THE  VISION  O 
ELIJAH  BERL 


FRANK  LEWIS  NASON 


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The  Vision  of  Elijah  Berl 


The 

Vision  of  Elijah  Berl 


By 
Frank  Lewis  Nason 

Author  of  "  To  the  End  of  the  Trail,"  and 
"  The  Blue  Goose" 


Boston 

Little,  Brown,  and  Company 
1905 


Copyright,  1905, 
BY  LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY. 

All  rights  resen-cd. 


Published  April,  1905. 


8.  J.  PARKHILL  &  Co.,  BOSTON,  U.  8.  A. 


PRELUDE 

Eight  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  winding  coast 
line  bend  in  and  out.  So  far  as  the  eye  can  reach 
over  the  wrinkling  sheet  of  the  Pacific,  to  where  its 
giant  swells  beat  against  bare,  brown  cliffs  and 
break  in  smothers  of  hissing  foam,  not  a  sail  is 
seen,  not  a  sign  of  life,  save  flocks  of  white-winged 
gulls  and  sea-mews,  or  herds  of  barking  seals  that 
swarm  on  rocky  islets.  Mountains  spring  from  the 
sea  and  climb,  mount  on  mount,  three  miles  into 
the  air,  or  sloping  sea-washed  sands  stretch  dry  and 
barren  and  forbidding,  to  rise  at  length  in  verdure- 
clad  hills  and  snow-capped  mountains.  In  the 
mountains  are  savage  beasts  and  more  savage  men. 
On  the  plains  a  few  straggling  herds  of  cattle,  with 
uncouth  vaqueros,  cluster  around  a  seeping  spring 
of  bitter  water.  Here  and  there  white-washed 
adobe  mission  houses,  all  but  hidden  in  a  clamber 
of  vines  and  trees,  mark  a  feeble  stream  that 
trickles  from  the  distant  mountains.  Olive-skinned 
signors  and  olive-skinned  sigiioritas  round  out  the 
circle  of  their  lives  and  there  lie  down  and  die,  un 
knowing  and  unknown;  tiny  and  their  fellows,  un 
dreamed  of,  the  land  of  their  abode  a  hazy  myth. 

As  by  the  wave  of  a  magic  wand,  att  is  changed. 


Root; 


PRELUDE 

The  ocean  now  is  dotted  with  sails  from  the  utter 
most  parts  of  the  earth.  They  choke  the  Golden 
Gate  with  their  numbers.  From  their  crowded 
decks,  swarms  of  men,  ministers  of  God  and  min 
isters  of  the  devil— learned,  ignorant,  murderers, 
thieves — women,  traitors  to  their  kind,  pour  forth 
and  swarm  over  the  land.  Mad  with  the  lust  of 
Gold,  they  burroiv  in  the  beds  of  streams,  tear  and 
claw  at  mountain-gulch  and  slope.  Tented  towns 
rise  like  night-grown  fungi,  and  wither  away,  to 
spring  again  into  existence,  lawless,  in  a  land  where 
law  is  not,  in  a  land  that  no  man  owns.  Through 
days  that  are  full  of  sweating  toil  and  nights  that 
cover  vigils  of  lust  and  death,  the  ferment  of  hell 
grows  in  the  blood  of  human  beings  ivho  have  left 
their  God  with  their  country. 

Another  wave  of  the  wand  and  God  reclaims  his 
own.  The  courthouse  and  the  gibbet,  ivithout 
mercy  but  full  of  stern  justice,  have  taken  the 
place  of  the  murderer's  greed  that  sharpened  the 
murderer's  knife. 

From  a  thousand  hills,  a  thousand  streams  have 
quickened  the  arid  acres  of  drifting  sand  into  fruit 
ful  life.  League  on  league  are  fields  of  waving 
grain.  League  on  league  are  green  vineyards  with 
their  clustered  fruit  blushing  and  sweetening  in  the 
sun.  League  on  league  happy  homes  are  all  but 
hidden  by  dark-leaved  trees,  with  fruit  yellow  as 
the  golden  apples  of  the  Hesperides. 

vi 


PRELUDE 

And  this  is  California!  For  unknown  ages  more 
desolate  and  terrible  than  Dante's  wildest  dream  o/ 
the  Inferno,  in  fifty  years  surpassing  his  picture  of 
Paradise.  Barred  from  the  world  on  one  side  by 
ten  thousand  miles  of  stormy  seas,  on  the  other  by 
tier  on  tier  of  mountains  and  miles  on  miles  of 
dreary  desert,  were  the  whole  United  States  to 
fade  as  did  the  cities  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon, 
California  icould  still  live  in  song  and  story,  more 
golden  than  the  mines  of  Ophir,  more  beautiful 
than  the  storied  plains  of  the  Tigris  and  the  Eu 
phrates. 


vn 


The 
Vision  of  Elijah  Berl 


CHAPTER  ONE 

"But  I  know  what  I  need.    I  need  you." 

There  was  a  dogged  tone  in  Elijah  Bed's  voice 
that  was  almost  sullenly  insistent. 

"I  have  given  you  all  that  I  have  to  give,  Elijah. 
You  don't  need  me.  What  you  need  is  money,  and 
that's  what  I  haven't  got." 

"And  I  say  again  that  I  have  thought  of  this 
for  five  years.  Ever  since  I  left  New  England.  I 
have  not  been  alone,  I  have  been  guided.  Step  by 
step  I  have  gone  over  my  ground  up  to  this  point. 
I  have  studied  men  as  carefully  as  I  have  my  work. 
You  are  the  man  I  have  selected,  and  you  are  the 
man  I  want." 

Ralph  AVinston  looked  thoughtfully  into  the 
plowing  eyes  bent  full  upon  him.  The  impulse  was 
strong  within  him  to  do  as  the  man  before  him 
wished— almost  compelled— him  to  do;  but  because 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

of  this  subtle  powe/  which  moved  him  so  strongly, 
he  hesitated.  To  what  further  lengths  might  it  not 
impel  him  when  the  first  step  had  been  taken? 
Clear-eyed,  clear-headed,  never  so  cautious  as  when 
his  desires  called  most  loudly  to  him,  he  hesitated 
to  take  the  first  step  in  the  path  which  Elijah  Berl 
had  so  insistently  opened  before  him.  Therefore 
he  spoke  deliberately,  almost  coldly. 

"Don't  misunderstand  me,  Elijah.  I  have  faith 
in  you  and  I  have  more  faith  in  your  idea.  For 
this  very  reason  I  hesitate  to  accept  your  offer. 
You  and  I  are  so  different.  I — " 

Elijah  interrupted  impatiently. 

'  *  I  have  thought  of  all  that,  I  have  prayed  over 
it.  'Be  ye  not  unequally  yoked  together  with  un 
believers,'  and  as  the  voice  from  heaven  came  to 
Paul,  even  so  it  came  to  me —  'What  God  hath 
cleansed,  that  call  not  thou  common.'  ' 

A  smile  flickered  for  a  moment  on  the  lips  of  the 
young  engineer  as  he  turned  to  a  pretty  little 
woman  who,  with  her  light  sewing  in  her  hands,  was 
rocking  gently  on  the  wide  verandah. 

"What  do  you  think  about  it,  Amy?" 

Amy  Berl  drew  her  needle  the  full  length  of  the 
thread  and  held  it  poised  for  a  moment  as  she  made 
reply. 

"Elijah  knows  what  is  best,  Ralph."  Then, 
with  a  swift  glance  at  her  husband,  she  again  bent 
over  her  work. 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Of  course  he  knows  some  things—  " 

"He  knows  every  thing."  Amy  did  not  raise 
her  eyes  from  her  work  this  time. 

With  a  sigh  of  impatience,  Elijah  threw  himself 
into  a  chair  near  his  wife.  The  needle  dropped 
from  the  hand  which  she  timidly  rested  upon  his, 
while  her  eyes  sought  his  face.  Absorbed  in  him 
self,  not  a  quiver  responded  to  the  touch  of  Amy's 
hand,  not  a  glance  answered  the  caress  of  her  eyes. 

It  was  a  pretty  picture  in  a  grandly  beautiful 
setting.  A  wide  verandah,  covered  with  climbing 
roses  in  full  bloom,  opened  upon  a  scene  almost 
tropical  in  its  beauty.  Down  the  redwood  steps  the 
eyes  wandered  across  a  luxuriant  flower  garden, 
still  lower  they  rested  upon  a  great  square  of  dark, 
shining  green;  below  this,  in  sharp  contrast,  and 
surrounding  the  shining  green,  tawny  sand  pricked 
in  with  tufts  and  clumps  of  dusty,  green  sage,  roll 
ing  hills  in  descending  cadence,  till,  in  the  far  dis 
tance,  a  grayer,  wimpling  gray,  the  great  Pacific 
marked  the  limits  of  the  desert. 

To  the  left,  the  eyes  leaped  the  rock-strewn  bed 
of  the  Rio  Sangre  de  Cristo,  climbed  rock-ribbed, 
wooded  slopes,  up  and  up  to  the  dizzy  snow-clad 
peaks  of  the  San  Bernardinos  that  rested  purple 
and  white  against  the  constant  azure  of  a  Cali 
fornia  sky.  Within  the  limits  of  the  cottage,  the 
flower  Lranlrn,  and  the  irrigated  orange  grove,  the 
sun  seemed  to  hold  its  fierceness  in  awesome  leash 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

only  to  let  loose  its  fervid  power  upon  the  glowing 
sands  and  their  tortured  growths. 

The  characters  were  in  harmony  with  their  set 
ting.  The  blue-eyed  little  woman,  delicate,  with 
tawny  hair,  a  sweet-scented  mountain  gentian 
ready  to  shrink  and  fold  upon  itself  at  a  shadow 
that  could  not  harm,  but  could  only  feebly  threaten ; 
the  young  engineer,  with  close-cropped  hair,  a  face 
chiselled  with  strong,  undoubting  strokes,  a  mouth 
half  hidden  by  a  mustache  that  gave  a  glimpse  of 
lips  too  thick  to  be  merciless,  too  thin  to  be  sen 
suous.  There  was  an  air  of  alertness  about  the 
man,  a  suggested  tireless  energy  that  renewed  its 
strength  on  the  food  of  humor  gathered  even  from 
the  most  monotonous  commonplaces.  Ralph  Win 
ston  was  not  a  rare  type  of  man,  but  he  was  a  sav 
ing  one.  With  him  was  an  air  of  inflexibility  of 
purpose,  softened  with  mercy;  a  rugged  honesty 
that  made  no  compromise  with  evil-doers,  an  hon 
esty  that,  with  laughing  eyes,  left  the  uncovered 
sinner  ashamed  and  repentant,  instead  of  defiant 
and  revengeful  in  his  defeat. 

A  tyro,  looking  at  the  smooth-shaven,  boyish  face 
of  Elijah  Berl,  would  fail  to  note  the  hardly  defined 
lines  that  ran  from  mouth  to  eyes ;  lines  broad,  un 
dulating  through  the  whole  gamut  of  enthusiasm, 
but  lines  that  grew  hard  and  merciless  as  they  con 
verged  to  eyes  narrowed  before  opposition  and 
lightened  with  fanatical  zeal. 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Winston's  footing  with  the  Berls  was  intimate, 
though  upon  short  acquaintance.  This  was  not 
strange  in  California.  Twenty  miles  from  the  Berl 
ranch  was  a  booming  town  that  had  attracted  Win 
ston.  Here  was  a  good  opening  for  an  engineer, 
with  large  and  sure  pay.  Winston  made  light  of 
the  town  and  its  promoters,  and  among  these  he 
had  no  intimates.  On  a  hunting  trip  he  had  dis 
covered  the  Berl  ranch  and  had  found  it  worthy  of 
the  more  intimate  acquaintance  to  which  he  was 
cordially  invited.  Little  by  little  he  had  drawn 
from  Elijah  the  story  of  his  life  in  California.  It 
had  been  an  isolated  life,  full  of  hardship,  but  de 
voted  to  a  single  idea,  that  of  reclaiming  the  vast 
extent  of  country  which  now  lay  barren  and  un 
fruitful. 

The  young  engineer's  eyes  grew  deep  and 
thoughtful.  This  offer  of  an  equal  partnership 
meant  even  more  to  him  than  Elijah  realized.  Why 
not  accept  it  ?  It  was  what  he  had  hoped  for,  had 
sought  for— a  life  work  in  which  he  could  enlist 
his  strength  and  his  sense  of  honor.  It  was  worth 
while,  grandly  worth  while.  His  heart  beat  high  at 
the  thought  of  it.  The  building  of  a  great  storage 
dam  in  the  mountains,  the  laying  out  of  canals  that 
should  lead  the  stored  waters  to  the  sun-parched 
deserts;  this  was  an  engineer's  work,  and  he  was 
an  engineer.  In  imagination  he  could  see,  as  Elijah 
saw,  the  bare  brown  hillsides  clothed  in  verdure 

5 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

and  teeming  with  prosperity.  Why  did  he  hesi 
tate?  Was  it  lack  of  money?  That  would  come. 
Yet  he  hesitated.  Why  ?  Clearer  than  ever  before 
came  the  thought  of  Elijah,  and  Winston  knew 
that  his  question  was  answered.  Elijah  was  his 
answer.  Elijah  himself  was  the  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  his  acceptance.  There  was  no  doubt  of  the 
worth  of  Elijah's  idea,  no  doubt  of  his  enthusiasm, 
no  doubt  of  his  patient,  tireless  energy.  Of  his 
integrity?  There  was  the  doubtful  point. 

If  he  accepted  Elijah's  offer,  he  could  foresee  the 
struggle  that  would  follow.  His  own  sense  of 
right  pitted  against  Elijah's  fanatical  zeal  that 
recognized  no  right  except  its  own  desires.  When 
the  fully  expanded  idea  of  redeeming  the  desert 
hillsides  should  open  before  Elijah,  before  the  eyes 
of  men,  when  wealth  and  power  should  beckon, 
just  a  little  at  first,  from  the  path  of  stern  uncom 
promising  honor,  Elijah  would  not  restrain  him 
self.  Would  he  be  able  to  control  him  ?  Winston 's 
lips  set  firmly.  He  knew  that  he  would  conquer 
in  the  end. 

Elijah  was  pacing  restlessly  up  and  down  the 
verandah,  now  and  then  casting  an  impatient  look 
upon  the  young  engineer  who  sat  motionless,  his 
eyes  on  the  hillsides  below  them.  At  length  he 
paused  abruptly  before  Winston. 

"Well?"  he  exclaimed  explosively,  "you  haven't 
given  me  an  answer  yet. ' ' 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Winston's  words  were,  measured. 

"No;  I  haven't.  If  you  insist  upon  an  answer 
today,  it  will  be  no." 

"You  want  time  to  think  it  overt"  Elijah's  voice 
was  sarcastic. 

"That's  just  it.  I  do  want  time.  I  know  that  if 
I  accept  your  offer,  you  and  I  are  going  to  come 
into  collision.  You  have  one  way  of  looking  at 
things,  I  have  another.  Not  once,  but  many  times, 
you  and  I  are  going  to  look  at  the  same  thing  at 
the  same  time  and  in  different  ways.  When  these 
times  come,  one  of  us  will  have  to  give  way."  Win 
ston  waved  aside  Elijah's  attempt  to  interrupt. 
"When  these  times  come,  I  may  be  the  one  to  give 
up,  but  if  I  am,  it  will  be  because  your  way  appeals 
to  my  reason  as  being  better  than  my  own." 

Winston's  meaning  was  clear  to  Elijah.  The 
"word"  that  he  reverenced,  the  voice  to  which  he 
listened  and  which  he  followed,  meant  not  the 
weight  of  a  feather  to  the  man  before  him.  Elijah 
moistened  his  nervous  lips  with  his  tongue.  He  had 
been  guided  to  seek  Winston— Winston  he  must 
have.  Impatiently  he  put  Winston's  words  aside. 

"All  this  is  not  to  the  point." 

"What  is?"  Winston  asked  curtly. 

"This.    Will  you  accept  my  offer?" 

"An  equal  partnership  with  yourself?" 

"Yes." 

"I  suppose  you  realize  that  if  I  accept,  the  raan- 

7 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

agement  is  no  longer  yours  alone,  but  yours  and 
mine?" 

"Yes." 

1 '  And  that  it  is  my  right  to  put  forth  every  effort 
to  compel  you  to  my  way  of  thinking?"  Winston 
deliberately  used  the  word  compel,  instead  of  per 
suade. 

"Yes,  yes!" 

"Then  I  will  think  it  over,  Elijah,  and  will  give 
you  my  final  ans-'/er  the  next  time  you  are  in 
Ysleta." 

"Suppose  I  come  tomorrow?"  Elijah's  voice 
was  assured. 

"My  answer  will  be  ready." 


8 


CHAPTER  TWO 

"  I  am  so  happy ! ' '  This  had  been  the  unbroken 
song  of  Amy  Berl  for  the  five  years  of  her  married 
life.  Maternity  had  not  altered  a  line  of  her  girl 
ish  figure,  neither  had  it  crou  ^ed  her  with  the 
rounded,  satisfying  glory  of  womanhood.  The  cease- 
lOH,  parching  winds  had  not  dimmed  the  lustre  of 
her  clear  blue  eyes,  nor  deadened  the  gloss  of  her 
soft  flaxen  hair.  Even  the  hot,  dry  air,  so  trying  to 
most,  only  heightened  the  beauty  of  her  complexion, 
as  the  peach  reveals  the  rich  glow  of  its  color  by 
diffusion  through  the  meshes  of  its  downy  veil.  Del 
icate  in  face  and  figure,  there  was  no  suggestion  of 
frailty,  neither  was  there  a  suggestion  of  strength. 
There  was  the  glow  of  perfect  health.  In  the 
eye*  that  looked  fearlessly  ami  frankly  into  the 
eyes  of  others,  there  was  unmistakably  a  capacity 
lor  infinite  happiness  and  infinite  suffering.  This 
was  all.  The  eyes  were  frank  because  they  had 
nothing  to  conceal;  nor  did  they  dream  that  other 
eyes  differed  from  them  They  were  fear 

less  because  they  knew  no  sin  in  th.  inst  1\.  s  or  in 
others.  There  was  not  strength  of  mind  or  of  intel 
lect  to  compel  the  fruition  of  her  desire  for  love. 

9 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

It  must  come  to  her  without  her  volition  or  not  at 
all.  As  the  flowers  of  the  field  unfold  in  beauty 
under  sun  and  shower,  even  so  she  grew  and  blos 
somed  and  was  fair  to  look  upon.  As  the  flowers 
of  the  field  wither  away  in  parching  drouth,  even  so 
would  the  beauty  of  happiness  fall  from  her  shrink 
ing  soul.  She  was  of  a  religious  nature,  not  be 
cause  of  a  consciousness  of  its  necessity  to  the 
human  soul,  but  because,  to  her,  God  was  love 
and  his  works  beautiful  to  look  upon.  God  to  her 
was  impersonal,  because  in  her  was  not  strength 
of  intellect  to  construct  an  entity  from  its  mani 
festations.  When  Elijah  Berl  came  to  her,  she 
received  him  as  a  god.  Her  love  was  not  selective ; 
it  was  responsive.  Henceforth  her  daily  prayers 
on  her  bended  knees  were  to  her  husband,  not  to  the 
Divine  Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift.  Even 
when  her  first-born  lay  in  her  arms,  the  light  that 
shone  in  her  eyes  was  not  the  giving  of  maternal 
love,  but  the  thrill  of  assurance  that  the  helpless 
mite  was  but  another  bond  that  bound  her  happi 
ness  to  her  soul  and  made  it  more  her  own.  She 
gave  with  the  unconscious  selfishness  of  a  perfect 
mirror  that  which  she  received,  no  more,  no  less. 

Elijah  Berl  had  not  yet  realized  what  his  wife 
was,  because  he  was  selfish  in  another  way.  He 
saw  himself  in  his  wife.  For  the  present,  this 
sufficed.  Five  years  of  struggle  in  the  land  of 
golden  promise  had  not  lessened  his  faith  in  him- 

10 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

self,  had  not  wearied  his  restless  energy,  nor 
dulled  his  faith  in  his  God.  From  NVw  England's 
granite  hills,  he  believed  God's  hand  had  led  him  to 
this  distant  field.  Since  the  day  of  his  birth,  the 
firm,  unwavering,  fanatical  belief  that  the  Bible 
was  God's  direct,  unchangeable  revelation  to  man, 
made  him,  as  it  had  made  his  father,  impregnable 
to  the  assaults  of  reason.  The  figurative,  s.'ini- 
scriptural  language  of  his  father  and  of  his 
father's  father  had  been  as  the  breath  of  his  nos 
trils.  It  had  become  a  part  of  him  as  it  was  of 
his  father.  It  was  neither  cant  nor  hypocrisy. 
"As  it  was  written,"  was  an  unanswerable  dictum. 
The  very  things  that  had  shaken  and  are  shaking 
to  its  foundation  the  faith  in  the  Bible  as  an  infalli 
ble  guide,  only  rooted  Elijah  the  more  firmly  in 
his  belief.  In  California  as  in  New  England,  he 
felt  that  in  good  time  God's  hand  would  point  out 
the  \\ork  which  He  had  planned  for  him  to  do.  II«» 
was  marking  time  with  restless  steps,  ready  to 
swing  into  action  when  God  should  give  tin*  word. 
Only  one  part  of  his  work  had  he  forecast  in  his 
mind.  A  son  of  the  soil,  in  the  soil  was  his  work 
to  be.  This  was  his  unshaken  belief.  From  San 
Benito,  under  the  shadow  of  abrupt  mountains, 
over  to  San  Quentin  where  ragged  chaparral  grew 
as  it  might  on  the  blood-red  hills,  and  where  cot- 
tonwoods  and  willows  throve  rank  on  the  moisture 
of  hidden  streams,  he  had  pitched  his  tent  for  the 

11 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

night  and  had  folded  it  in  the  morning.  What 
mattered  it  to  him  that  the  scattered  ranchers 
looked  approvingly  upon  his  fair-haired  wife,  and, 
moved  with  pity  for  her,  cursed  him  as  a  heartless 
idiot;  or  that  uncouth  vaqueros  shrugged  their 
shoulders  and  softly  named  him  a  locoed  gringo? 

The  few  dollars  which  he  had  brought  with  him 
from  the  East,  had  long  since  been  spent  in  his 
wanderings.  The  goodly  sum  which  had  come  to 
him  on  the  death  of  his  father,  was  no  longer  what 
it  had  been ;  yet  he  had  no  thought  of  despair.  The 
limit  of  his  wanderings  was  narrowing  in  concen 
tric  circles,  and  at  length  its  centre  was  fixed. 
With  almost  his  last  dollar,  he  had  bought  a  wide 
ranch  from  a  dreamy  Mexican  who  had  then  gone 
his  way.  Already  the  land  around  his  was  heaving 
and  swelling  in  undulating  rolls  that  warn  the 
mariner  of  a  coming  storm.  Bearded  ranchers 
laughed  in  scorn,  and  mild-eyed  Mexicans  spoke 
even  more  softly.  What  were  a  few  seeping  springs 
on  the  hillsides?  What  were  the  hillsides  them 
selves  beside  the  rolling  plains  at  their  feet,  where 
herds  of  cattle  fed  and  drank  and  mired  them 
selves  in  green-fringed  cienagas?  Elijah  was  dis 
turbed  no  more  than  was  Noah  when  he  closed  the 
doors  of  his  ark  against  the  gibes  of  the  unbe 
lievers.  His  mission  was  being  disclosed,  point  by 
point  and  line  by  line,  to  his  waiting  eye. 

Elijah   deepened  his  springs  and  hoarded  the 

12 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

water  they  gave.  Between  rows  of  dark-green 
leaves,  shrubs  that  faded  not  in  summer 's  drouth 
nor  in  winter's  rains,  he  guided  trickling  streams, 
apportioning  to  each  its  proper  share.  Through 
the  day  he  toiled  with  increasing  energy. 
Towards  each  night,  with  Amy  by  his  side,  he 
rested  by  the  door  of  his  cottage  and  looked  below, 
over  reddening  hills,  across  the  rolling  plains,  be 
yond  where  the  half-buried  disc  of  the  sun  spread 
wide  the  golden  mantle  of  its  light  upon  the 
wrinkling  waters  of  the  Pacific.  Behind  the  cot 
tage,  from  the  rock-strewn  wash  of  the  Rio  Sangre 
de  Cristo,  the  lowest  foot-hills  rose  to  wooded 
slopes,  grew  to  timbered  mountains,  up  and  up 
till  the  forests  gave  way  to  the  snow-capped  peaks 
of  the  San  Bernardinos.  "I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes 
unto  the  hills  whence  cometh  my  help."  In  mid 
day's  toil  when  Elijah  paused  to  rest  his  strained 
back,  or  to  wipe  the  perspiration  from  his  stream 
ing  face,  in  the  silence  of  the  night,  when  the  moon 
lay  white  and  still  upon  the  slumbering  landscape, 
his  eyes  sought  out  the  solemn  mountains  which 
were  shaping  his  dreams.  He  listened  to  the  roar 
of  the  torrents  that  came  faint  with  distance,  when 
the  mountains  wrung  dry  the  clouds  that  shrouded 
their  peaks,  or  when  the  fierce  sun  swept  away 
their  winter's  mantle  of  white.  He  watched  the 
surLrin<_r  flood  that  rolled  breast-hiph  in  receding 
waves  through  the  Sangre  de  Cristo,  tossing  boul- 

13 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

ders  like  feathers  in  their  boisterous  strength; 
watched  it  rush  through  torrid  plains  and  finally 
sink  from  sight  beneath  the  sands.  He  watched 
the  parched  lips  held  to  the  Tantalean  cup,  saw 
the  few  drops  of  stolen  moisture  quicken  into 
verdant  life,  saw,  when  the  flood  had  passed  by 
and  the  mountains  had  ceased  to  give  forth  their 
murmurs,  the  mocking  sun  crackle  the  up-sprung 
life  to  choking  dust,  and  once  more  the  shimmering 
heat-waves  rise  in  trembling  agony  from  the  tor 
tured  sands.  Then  the  voice  that  was  calling  him 
grew  more  distinct,  the  guiding  hand  more  clearly 
outlined.  As  the  blood  of  Christ  quickened  into 
life  the  soul  dead  in  sin,  so  should  the  stream  that 
bore  His  name  quicken  into  blooming  fields  the 
dead,  dry  sands  of  the  desert.  His  lips  moved  rev 
erently  with  his  unuttered  words,  a  prayer  for 
guidance,  a  chant  of  faith,  as  his  eyes  swept  from 
crest  to  crest  of  the  blood-red  hills  that  held  the 
river  of  the  blood  of  Christ  against  the  mountains 
of  its  birth. 

In  spite  of  his  words  to  the  -contrary,  Elijah  was 
disturbed  by  Winston's  attitude.  What  was  the 
flaw  in  his  scheme  that  held  Winston  aloof?  Elijah 
was  in  an  agony  of  doubt.  Up  and  down  the 
flower-scented  paths,  through  groves  of  orange, 
yellow  with  golden  fruit,  he  paced  with  restless 
stops.  With  all  his  soul  he  strained  to  catch  an 
opening  in  the  clouds  that  held  the  future  from 

14 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

his  eyes.  Little  by  little  the  sense  of  depression 
yielded  to  his  efforts,  little  by  little  the  vision  that 
had  kept  him  constant,  returned  to  him  in  the 
full  glory  of  perfection.  He  had  been  watching 
the  hills  as  they  glowed  in  the  light  of  the  setting 
sun.  As  the  gray  night,  settling  over  all,  blotted 
out  the  details  of  the  landscape,  leaving  the  moun 
tains  a  purple  blur  against  the  faint  blue  of  the 
sky.  Elijah  felt  a  strong  reaction.  He  feared,  yet 
longed  for  the  coming  light;  feared,  lest  it  should 
prove  that  the  plan  which  had  been  revealed  to  him 
might  be  but  the  figment  of  a  frenzied  dream. 

Amy  was  sitting  beside  him  as  usual,  her  hand 
in  his.  Her  eyes  dreamily  watched  the  shifting 
shadows  as  the  sinking  sun  moved  them  to  and  fro 
in  a  stately  march.  As  the  shadows  deepened  to 
darkness,  her  eyes  closed  and  her  head  sank  upon 
Elijah's  shoulder.  Elijah  could  no  longer  endure 
the  strain  of  questioning  doubt  that  the  shadows 
\\vre  pouring  over  his  soul. 

"Amy!  Amy!"  he  called. 

''What  is  it,  Elijah?" 

"I  can't  see,  Amy.  I  saw  it  all,  and  now  it's 
gone." 

''What  is  gone,  Elijah?"    The  voice  was  heavy 

will)    slrrp. 

"I  can't  sit  still  any  longer.  Let's  walk.  The 
moon  will  be  up  soon  and  then  I  can  see  if  I  was 
wrong.  Come." 

15 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Amy  was  again  sleeping.    He  shook  her  gently  as 
he  rose  to  his  feet. 
"Come," 

"I  am  so  tired,  Elijah."  She  rose  and  turned 
toward  the  open  door.  " Let's  wait  until  tomor 
row.  ' ' 

"I  can't  wait.    It's  now,  now!" 

Amy  was  conscious  of  nothing  save  her  over 
powering  drowsiness. 

"Come  in  with  me,  Elijah." 

"No,  no!  I  can't."  Elijah  was  irritated;  not 
at  Amy,  but  at  the  tingle  of  opposition  that  played 
upon  his  strained  nerves. 

"Goodnight,  Elijah."  She  put  up  her  dreamy 
lips  for  his  goodnight  kiss;  but  Elijah  had  left  her 
and  was  again  striding  up  and  down,  his  eyes  fixed 
on  the  purple  blur.  Without  further  word,  she 
entered  the  cottage  and  lay  down  to  the  rest  for 
which  her  eyes  so  longed. 

One  by  one  the  stars  pricked  through  the  arching 
sky,  filling  the  space  above  the  earth  with  a  light 
that  only  intensified  the  darkness  below.  Hour 
after  hour  passed  by.  At  length  a  silver  halo 
fringed  the  mountain  summits,  a  band  of  light 
softly  parting  the  blue  of  the  sky  from  the  purple 
of  the  mountains.  A  silver  disc,  barred  with  dense 
black  lines,  moved  grandly  into  the  waiting  sky, 
and  twinklinir  stars  veiled  their  faces  before  their 
coming  queen.  Par  out  on  the  plain  a  banded  line 

16 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

of  light  moved  against  the  retreating  darkness. 
Against  the  hills  it  swept,  charging  their  steep 
slopes,  creeping  up  their  darkened  gulches,  glowing 
on  their  conquered  crests ;  on  and  on  it  swept,  until 
the  retreating  shadows  sank  from  the  earth  before 
the  hosts  of  light.  As  the  outlines  of  the  hills  came 
sharply  into  sight,  Elijah's  dream  took  substance 
that  would  never  wane  again. 

Amy  arose,  bright  and  fresh  for  the  day.  Upon 
Elijah  the  strained  vigil  of  the  night  had  left  its 
mark.  There  was  no  longer  ecstasy.  The  settled 
lines  of  his  face  were  almost  sullen  in  their  inten 
sity.  The  sparkle  died  from  Amy's  eyes  and  a 
look  of  anxious  questioning  took  its  place.  With 
the  strange  unconscious  conceit  confined  to  narrow 
minds,  she  never  dreamed  that  her  husband's  pre 
occupation  was  a  thing  entirely  apart  from 
herself.  Wholly  self-centred,  her  husband's  smil 
ing  attention  meant  approbation;  preoccupation 
meant  disapproval  or  resentment.  Her  sun  was 
her  husband's  love.  In  its  full  warm  rays  she 
basked  with  the  happy  abandon  of  a  well-fed 
animal.  Preoccupation  was  the  eclipsing  shadow 
that  chilled  her  to  the  marrow,  with  no  sustaining 
faith  that  it  was  only  obscuration,  not  destruction 
for  all  time.  When  the  shadow  fell,  there  was  no 
<ith«-r  sii'_'Lr<^ti<>M  than  to  beat  her  sounding  soul 
with  a  heathen's  anlor.  in  order  to  frighten  from 
its  prey  the  devouring  dragon  that  would  forever 

17 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

destroy  her  source  of  life  and  light.  Now  her 
anxiety  grew  to  pain ;  her  lips  were  tremulous. 

"What  have  I  done  to  offend  you,  Elijah?" 

"Nothing,"  he  answered  abruptly.  "I'm  not 
offended.  Can't  you  see  that  I'm  absorbed  in  my 
work?  I  can't  spend  all  my  time  in  telling  you 
that  I  love  you  just  the  same  as  ever.  Why  can't 
you  take  something  for  granted?" 

Elijah's  words  were  sharp-cut,  almost  explosive. 
It  was  not  resentment  at  Amy ;  it  was  the  irritation 
of  a  dog  who  is  having  a  bone  taken  from  his  jaws. 

Amy  was  cut  to  the  depths  of  her  sensitive  soul. 
Her  words  were  not  a  reproach,  but  a  hopeless 
wail. 

"It's  these  miserable  orange  trees!  I  wish 
oranges  had  never  grown  in  this  country.  I  was 
so  happy  before.  Now  you  never  think  of  me.  You 
look  at  the  mountains  and  the  springs  and  the 
orange  trees,  but  never  at  me."  Her  tears  were 
flowing  freely,  her  lips  were  tremulous. 

Elijah  was  moved,  but  without  understanding. 

"Why!  Haven't  I  always  enjoyed  showing 
them  to  you  and  talking  to  you  about  them  ?  You 
know  that  I  always  tell  you  every  thing  that  I  am 
doing." 

"Yes,  I  know;  but  you  get  just  as  enthusiastic 
over  them  to  Ralph  Winston  and  he  looks  cold 
all  the  time  and  keeps  criticising  and  contradicting 
you.  It's  just  the  same  with  the  other  men  who 

18 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

come  to  look  at  your  work.  They  don't  care  one 
single  thing  about  you,  and  I  do,  and  I  tell  you  so, 
but  you  won't  believe  me." 

Amy's  tears  had  ceased,  her  voice  was  steadier; 
but  there  was  a  suggestion  of  the  eager  heart  hunger 
that  looked  from  her  eyes. 

"Winston  isn't  my  wife,  Amy  —  " 

"And  he  doesn't  care  for  you.  He  says  things 
to  you  I  would  not  think  of  saying." 

Elijah  made  an  impatient  gesture,  resuming  his 
interrupted  words. 

"I  have  a  great  idea,  a  great  work.  I  have  only 
shown  what  can  be  done.  To  actually  do  it,  I  must 
have  money.  I  know  these  men  don't  care  any 
thing  about  me;  I  don't  care  anything  about  them, 
only  to  get  them  interested  and  convinced.  If  I 
can  only  do  this,  it  means  fame  and  fortune  to  me 
and,  just  think  of  what  it  all  means !  Just  think ! 
When  these  great,  barren,  red  hillsides  are  all 
covered  with  orchards;  with  beautiful  houses  and 
thousands  of  happy,  prosperous  people;  when  the 
snows  and  rains  of  the  San  Bernardinos,  instead  of 
running  to  waste,  will  flow  through  tunnels  and 
canals  and  make  the  desert  blossom  as  the  rose; 
then  they  will  all  say  that  this  is  the  work  of  one 
man,  of  me,  Elijah  Berl!"  Elijah's  «-\vs  kindled 
anew  with  the  thought  which  he  had  elaborated. 

Amy  saw  and  was  terrified.  H«T  soul  shrank  and 
shiveivd  before  the  vision  which  he  had  conjured 

19 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

up.  She  could  not  have  stated  to  herself  the  reason 
of  her  fear.  Only  one  thought  was  keenly  present 
to  her,  that  henceforth  she  would  be  no  longer  the 
sole  centre  of  her  husband's  life. 

"I  don't  want  you  to  be  great,  Elijah.  I  want 
you,  just  as  you  are." 

Elijah  saw  the  expression  of  his  wife,  not  the 
principle  which  gave  it  birth.  He  caught  a  fleeting 
glimpse,  a  faint  suggestion  of  the  impelling  prin 
ciple  that  stimulates  all  men  to  the  heights  of 
achievement;  the  pride  and  glory  of  laying  at  the 
feet  of  love  the  laurels  of  their  triumphs,  the  testi 
monials  of  worth  wrung  from  a  grudging  world; 
the  proud  conviction  that  love  is  made  secure  by  the 
assurance  that  its  object  is  not  unworthy.  He 
failed  to  see  that  the  principles  which  control  a 
narrow  though  amiable  mind,  may  be  in  hopeless 
antagonism  with  the  broader  views  of  higher  mental 
endowment.  He  failed  to  see  that  each  life  has  its 
limitations,  that  when  it  has  given  all,  it  can  give  no 
more.  The  time  had  not  yet  come  for  this  knowl 
edge.  Therefore  it  was  hidden  from  his  eyes,  that 
when  it  should  come,  a  hopeless  sorrow  should 
come  with  it.  He  turned  again  to  Amy. 

"I  am  not  always  going  to  be  just  what  I  am. 
I  am  going  to  do  great  things  and  you  will  be  proud 
that  I  am  your  husband." 

4 'Don't,  Elijah!  Don't!"  Amy  clutched 
Elijah  as  if  already  she  felt  him  slipping  from  her 

20 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

grasp.  "I  loved  you  as  you  were.  I  love  you  as 
you  are.  You  can  never  be  more  dear  to  me.  I 
don't  know,  Elijah;  I  am  afraid."  She  buried  hoi- 
head  on  his  shoulder.  "I  am  afraid  I  shall  not 
always  be  everything  to  you.  I  am  so  happy  with 
you  now.  If  I  should  ever  be  less  happy,  it  would 
kill  D 

"Nonsense.  Don't  make  pictures  to  get  scared 
at."  He  drew  his  watch  from  his  pocket.  "I  must 
go  now.  You  know  I  promised  to  see  Ralph  at 
Ysleta  this  morning.  Goodbye,  and  don't  scare 
yourself  any  more." 

Elijah  began  to  unclasp  her  arms.  They  were 
reluctant  rather  than  resisting.  He  kissed  her  with 
a  show  of  affection  which  was  not  absent,  only 
obscured  by  other  things ;  then  he  saddled  his  horse 
and  rode  away. 

Amy  stood  watching  him  with  hard,  dry  eyes; 
with  the  unconscious  superstition  of  the  maiden 
who  with  trembling  fingers  plucks  one  by  one  the 
petals  from  a  prophetic  flower.  "He  loves  me, 
he  loves  me  not."  She  stood  watching  for  a  motion, 
a  gesture  which  should  assure  her  that  her  hus 
band's  thoughts  were  of  her,  even  as  hers  were  of 
him,  making  herself  the  wretched  plaything  of 
senseless  Fate,  instead  of  resting  tranquil  in  the 
surety  that  she  was  its  master. 

Elijah  was  absorbed  in  himself.  He  grew  but  a 
speck  on  the  trail  to  Amy's  watching  eyes.  There 

21 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

was  not  a  motion  which  she  could  distort  into  a 
recognition  of  her  existence.  The  last  petal  had 
fallen.  *  *  He  loves  me  not. ' ' 


22 


CHAPTER  THREE 

Ysleta  was  booming  and  was  being  boomed. 
Avenues  of  graded  sand,  cleared  of-  their  desert 
growth,  stretched  in  prim  right  angles  far  out  into 
the  horizon.  White  posts  with  staring,  black 
numerals  heralded  city  lots  and  bounded  patches  of 
cactus  and  chaparral  which  were  thus  protected 
from  further  molestation,  and  gave  asylum  to 
gophers  and  prairie  dogs  who  had  not  lost  their 
wits  in  the  booming  hubbub  for  the  sole  reason  that 
nature  had  given  them  none  to  lose.  Straining 
teams  dragged  great  ploughs  that  tore  through 
matted  roots  and  turned  furrows  which  slid  back 
bfliind  the  parting  share.  Other  sweating  horses 
pulled  scrapers  of  sand  from  dusty  hummocks  and 
plumped  their  loads  in  dustier  hollows.  Rows  of 
bedraggled  palms  trailed  out  behind  gangs  of  bur 
rowing  men  or  gathered  in  quincunx  clumps  where 
a  glaring  signboard  proclaimed  a  city  park. 
Thumping  hammers  and  clinking  trowels  were  rais 
ing  uncouth  buildings  around  the  central  plaza, 
adding  other  grotesque  monstrosities  to  those  which 
had  already  attained  perfection  in  every  detail 
that  rebelled  against  a  sense  of  beauty.  Throngs 

23 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

of  men  and  women  trailed  ankle  deep  through  the 
new-turned  sand  and  broke  up  into  knots  of  ani 
mated  discussion,  or  paused  before  a  map  of  Ysleta 
to  listen  to  a  perspiring  real  estate  agent  repeating 
with  tireless  enthusiasm  "the  beauties  of  eternal 
sunshine  in  a  land  where  burning  heat  and  blast 
ing  cold  never  entered;  a  land  where  perennial 
spring  went  hand  in  hand  with  perennial  autumn, 
where  seed  time  and  harvest  trailed  side  by  side, 
where  dividing  lines  between  summer  and  winter 
solstice  were  but  meaningless  numerals  in  the  cycles 
of  succeeding  years;  a  land  that  for  untold  ages 
had  slumbered  and  waxed  fat  with  accumulated 
richness  and  where  the  sun  had  stored  its  genial 
warmth  against  the  day  when  suffering  humanity 
should  wake  to  the  knowledge  of  what  California 
was  and  hasten  to  enjoy  her  stored  up  treasures." 

Blaring  trumpets  and  booming  drums  accom 
panied  aligned  men,  gorgeous  with  purple  and 
gold;  beribboned  four-in-hands  with  varnished 
carriages  trailed  along  behind,  and  a  brazen- 
throated  herald  proclaimed  a  bounteous  repast 
free  to  all  who  would  honor  his  master  by  partak 
ing. 

"Fall  in!  Fall  in!"  and  knots  of  men  balanced 
to  the  swing  of  the  band  and  wheeled  into  line, 
choked  with  dust,  blinded  with  dust,  and  covered 
with  dust  which  the  tearing  ploughshares  had 

24 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BKK'L 

softened  up,  and  which  eager  feet  were  beating  into 
the  air. 

Into  this  bustle  and  blare,  Elijah  Berl  rode  as 
he  had  ridden  many  times  of  late.  Unmoved,  save 
for  a  contemptuous  pity,  he  looked  down  upon  the 
hurrying  crowd,  crazed  by  the  lust  of  wealth,  who 
bought  today  to  sell  tomorrow,  each  knowing  that 
some  would  be  caught  in  the  reaction  that  was  sure 
to  come,  but  each  steadfast  in  the  confidence  that 
his  own  good  sense  would  protect  him  from  the 
general  ruin.  He  looked  down  to  where  the  Sangre 
de  Cristo,  no  longer  an  impetuous  torrent,  seeped 
lazily  through  its  bed  of  shining  sand ;  at  the  mass 
of  tangled  shrubs  and  clinging  vines  quickened  by 
its  waters  into  a  riotous  growth  that  blossomed  and 
fruited  in  the  sensuous  sun.  Over  his  shoulder,  he 
looked  at  the  distant  slopes  from  which  he  had 
come.  At  the  open  door  of  a  redwood  cottage  he 
dismounted  and  entered. 

"Hello,  Ralph!" 

At  the  salutation,  Winston's  compact  athletic 
figure  strni'_rhtened  from  his  drawing-board. 

"Oh,  hello,  Elijah!  You're  just  the  man  I 
wanted  to  see." 

"Have  you  decided  yet?"  Elijah's  voice  was 
eager. 

"Do  you  still  want  me?" 

"Yes.  It's  tomorrow  now.  If  this  is  too  soon, 
tomorrow  and  tomorrow  are  yet  to  come." 

25 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Well,  Elijah,  if  it's  all  right,  my  answer  is 
yes." 

Elijah  took  Winston's  hand  in  both  of  his  own; 
his  eyes  spoke  the  words  his  tongue  could  not  utter. 

"It's  going  to  be  uphill  work,  Elijah,  but  I  guess 
we'll  manage  it." 

"Of  course  we  will."  Elijah  was  striding  up 
and  down  the  little  office.  He  paused  and  looked 
thoughtfully  out  of  the  window. 

"This  hasn't  got  into  your  blood  yet,  eh?"  he 
jerked  his  thumb  toward  the  hustling  street. 

"Not  much!  It  would  be  fun  to  watch  this 
racket  if  a  fellow  hadn't  a  conscience.  Do  you 
know,  I'm  getting  to  believe  that  men  and  things 
are  built  on  the  same  lines.  The  sweeter  the  wine, 
the  sharper  the  vinegar,  and  you  may  pound  my 
head  for  a  drum  if  the  smartest  man  doesn't  make 
the  biggest  kind  of  a  fool." 

"I  guess  that's  so,  if  he  lets  himself  go.  I'm  not 
going  to  let  go." 

Winston  looked  at  Elijah  with  an  expression  that 
might  be  interpreted  as  jocular  or  serious. 

"Hold  tight.  I've  seen  men  as  sharp  as  you, 
crowding  another  fellow  out  and  blowing  hot  air 
into  his  balloon." 

"Are  you  getting  scared  on  my  account?"  Elijah 
smiled,  looking  at  Winston  with  confident  half- 
closed  eyes. 

"No.    If  your  bearings  begin  to  smoke,  I'm  go- 

26 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

ing  to  cooi  you  off.  It  isn't  going  to  be  all  lavender 
and  roses,  Elijah.  You'll  find  me  a  pretty  trying 
party  at  times,  I  give  you  fair  warning." 

Elijah  turned  from  the  window,  looking  straight 
at  Winston. 

"I'm  going  to  begin  right  now.  I've  been  at 
work  all  night.  Now  cool  off  and  let's  get  to 
work." 

Winston  sat  down  before  the  drawing-board. 

"Here's  the  map  of  the  canal  line.  It  isn't 
inked  in  yet,  but  you  can  see  how  it 's  going  to  come 
out.  There  must  be  two  long  tunnels;  but  that's 
no  great  matter.  It's  one  of  three  things.  Tunnels, 
aqueducts,  or  inverted  siphons.  It's  a  toss-up  be 
tween  tunnels  and  aqueducts,  so  far  as  cost  is  con 
cerned.  Siphons  will  cost  about  half,  but  you  know 
what  a  choke  or  a  break  means,  so  out  go  siphons." 

"You  favor  tunnels?" 

"By  all  means.  The  ditch  line  is  shortened  by 
them,  anyway.  You'll  save  there." 

Elijah  gazed  long  and  lovingly  at  the  map,  then 
looked  up  with  a  ivli.-vod  sigh. 

"Just  a  little  dam  will  turn  the  whole  stream  into 
the  canal." 

"Yes.  Just  a  little  dam.  That's  easy."  Wins 
ton  drew  a  dust  cloth  over  the  map  and  weighted 
it  down.  "I  wish  I  could  get  reliable  data  on  the 
si/o  of  the  dam  it  will  take  to  turn  some  of  this 
fool-money  into  a  channel  of  common  sense.  What 

27 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

I  am  afraid  of  is,  that  when  this  boom  breaks,  the 
fools  who  have  not  been  ruined,  will  be  too  badly 
scared  to  put  money  into  government  bonds,  let 
alone  an  irrigation  plant,  and  before  they  recover 
their  wits,  they'll  either  forget  that  there  is  such 
a  place  as  California,  or  use  it  to  slug  themselves 
with  when  they  feel  another  fool  attack  coming 
on." 

' '  You  leave  that  to  me.  I  've  got  something  more 
to  show  than  a  sand-flat  pegged  full  of  white  stakes. 
Oranges  will  do  better  than  that.  Dry  hillsides  at 
nothing  a  square  mile  are  going  to  be  a  thousand 
an  acre  when  we  get  water  on  them." 

"Let  up,  Elijah.  Keep  your  chips  off  from  that 
spot.  That's  a  safer  proposition  than  Ysleta  lots 
with  hot-air  values,  but  it's  the  same  kind  of  a 
wheel  after  all.  If  you  once  get  the  hum  of  it  in 
your  ears  you'll  go  to  pieces  like  all  the  rest." 

"Are  your  estimates  completed?" 

"Yes;  ready  to  be  typed.  You  think  they'd  bet 
ter  be  typed  first,  don't  you?" 

"Yes.  We  can  have  them  printed  afterward.  I 
don't  want  anything  gorgeous.  Just  plain,  con 
servative  figures.  I  have  my  statement  of  what  has 
been  done  in  the  three  years  on  my  ranch.  There 
is  just  one  thing  I  have  left  out.  It  would  be  a 
telling  thing  to  put  in,  but  I  think  we  can  use  it  to 
better  advantage  by  keeping  it  to  ourselves." 

"What's  that?" 

28 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Elijah  drew  a  neatly  folded  sheet  from  his  pocket. 
It  was  filled  with  columns  of  figures. 

"It's  an  idea  of  my  own.  What  do  you  think 
of  it?" 

Winston  looked  rapidly  over  the  sheet,  then 
gave  a  low,  meditative  whistle. 

"Are  you  sure  of  this?" 

"Dead  sure.  I've  been  making  observations  with 
self-registering  thermometers.  That's  the  result." 
Elijah  pointed  to  the  sheet. 

'A  frostless  belt!"  Winston  snatched  the  sheet 
from  his  drawing-board  and  bent  over  the  map,  one 
finger  on  the  sheet,  the  other  eagerly  tracing  lines 
on  the  surface  of  the  map.  "That's  the  greatest 
thing  yet !  There  is  a  big  fortune  for  all  of  us  in 
that  alone." 

Elijah  half  closed  his  eyes,  his  teeth  bared  with 
a  smile  siiLTi:estive  of  malice. 

"May  I  offer  you  some  of  your  advice  to  me?" 

"Certainly,  and  I'll  take  it  too,  when  I  need  it. 
But  say,  Elijah,  what  in  the  name  of  the  immortals 
do  you  want  to  leave  this  out  for?  It's  the  most 
telling  thing  we've  got." 

Elijah's  eyes  narrowed  closely. 

"I  haven't  got  control  of  the  whole  belt  yet. 
That's  one  thing.  Another  is,  that  when  orange 
lands  get  under  way,  there's  going  to  be  a  demand 
that  the  frostless  belt  isn't  going  to  supply." 

Winston's  face  set. 

29 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"You  don't  mean  that  you  are  going  to  sell  lands 
for  orange  ranches  that  you  know  won't  grow 
oranges  ? ' ' 

"I  don't  know  that  they  won't  grow  oranges," 
Elijah  answered  doggedly.  "I  only  know  what 
will." 

"You  are  going  to  let  people  find  that  out  at 
their  own  expense?" 

"Why  not?  That's  the  way  I  got  my  informa 
tion." 

There  was  a  contemptuous  look  on  Winston's 
face. 

"Well,  I'll  be  hanged.  God  does  move  in  a  mys 
terious  way,  if  you  are  a  fair  sample  of  his  stamp 
ing  ground." 

Elijah's  face  set  with  resentment.  He  straight 
ened  his  lips  for  an  angry  retort,  but  restrained 
himself.  He  ans\vered  sullenly. 

"I  tell  you,  I  don't  know  that  the  land  won't 
grow  oranges.  I  only  know  what  will.  I'm  going 
to  get  control  of  this  f rostless  belt.  I  found  it  and 
there's  nothing  wrong  in  taking  advantage  of  it. 
Why  not  tell  the  Mexicans  who  own  it  now  and  are 
glad  to  sell  for  a  dollar  an  acre,  that  their  land 
will  grow  oranges  and  that  it's  worth  a  thousand?" 
There  was  a  triumphant  note  in  his  last  words. 

Winston  was  ready  to  dismiss  this  phase  of  the 
question. 

"Don't  ask  me.    You  settle  that  between  you.    I 

30 

/  ~       /}      J 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

notice  that  the  Almighty  isn't  a  hard  one  to  manage 
when  you  take  him  in  your  lap  and  reason  with 
him.  He  usually  comes  around  to  your  way  of 
thinking.'* 

Elijah's  puritanism  blinded  his  eyes  to  Winston's 
sarcasm.  He  saw  only  the  apparently  sacrilegious 
blasphemy  of  his  words.  He  stood  aghast  as  a 
superstitious  heathen  before  his  smitten  idol.  His 
five  years  of  struggle  in  the  West  had  changed  him 
in  no  essential  point.  It  had  only  given  room  for 
the  full  development  of  the  motive  that  had  lain 
dormant  in  his  former  cramped  surroundings.  Side 
by  side,  yet  wholly  independent  the  one  of  the  ' 
other,  his  faith  in  Divine  guidance,  his  reverence 
for  God,  his  New  England  land-hunger,  his  greed 
for  wealth,  his  lust  for  power,  had  grown  and  were 
growing  with  every  new  opportunity.  He  had 
learned  to  keep  in  the  background,  to  some  extent, 
the  expression  of  his  fanatical  beliefs,  not  because* 
his  personal  faith  had  waned,  but  in  reality  because 
he  saw  that  Divine  guidance  had  less  convincing 
wt-ight  with  others  than  the  logic  of  hard,  common 
sense.  Ho  learned  only  that  which  he  wished  to 
learn,  believed  only  that  which  he  wished  to  believe, 
did  only  that  which  he  wished  to  do;  not  because 
of  conscious  hypocrisy,  but  because  his  very  faith 
in  God's  guidance  had  blinded  his  eyes  to  its  recog 
nition  and  forbidden  him  to  question  his  own  de 
sires. 

31 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Elijah  thought  quickly.  Even  Winston  was 
hardly  aware  of  the  pause  that  ensued  after  his 
last  words. 

"We're  drifting  from  our  point.  The  water 
question  comes  first.  The  other  can  come  up  later." 

"A  good  deal  later,  I  hope,"  Winston  replied 
drily.,  "Let's  get  over  to  Miss  Lonsdale 's  office. 
She 's  doing  my  clerical  work  now. ' ' 

Winston  was  not  slow  in  noting  signs  and  he 
had  seen  a  good  many  in  his  relations  with  Elijah 
which  had  disquieted  him.  He  went  steadily  on 
his  way,  however,  confident  in  his  own  strength. 
He  gathered  a  few  papers  in  his  hand  and  with 
Elijah  went  out  into  the  street.  They  entered 
another  redwood  cottage  that  bore  a  sign,  announc 
ing,  "Helen  Lonsdale,  Stenographer,  Typewriter 
and  Notary  Public." 

"Miss  Lonsdale,  my  friend,  Mr.  Berl.  We  want 
some  work  done  right  away.  Can  you  attend  to 
it?" 

Miss  Lonsdale  acknowledged  the  introduction, 
swept  aside  a  litter  of  papers,  stripped  a  half-writ 
ten  page  from  her  machine,  drew  forth  a  note-book, 
and,  after  pushing  her  cuffs  from  her  wrists,  as 
sumed  a  waiting  attitude. 

Winston  addressed  Elijah. 

1 '  I  guess  you  're  fixed  now.  You  go  on  with  Helen 
and  I'll  get  back  to  my  work.  If  you  need  me, 
I'll  come  in."  Then  he  left  the  office. 

32 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Elijah  had  all  but  forgotten  his  business  in  the 
contemplation  of  the  girl  before  him.  It  was  with 
an  almost  unconscious  feeling  of  resentment  that 
he  heard  Winston  call  her  familiarly  "Helen." 

"I  am  afraid,  Miss  Lonsdale,"  he  began,  when 
he  was  interrupted. 

"You  can  call  me  Helen.  Every  one  does.  It 
saves  time.  Time  is  money,  pretty  fast  too,  just 
now."  The  words  were  spoken  with  a  light  ripple. 

It  faintly  occurred  to  Elijah  that  he  had  heard 
something  like  her  laughter  before.  There  was  a 
suggestion  of  fresh,  crisp  air,  the  opening  of 
spring,  of  young  green  plants  pushing  through  the 
black  soil  beside  New  England  brooks.  There  was 
a  further  suggestion  that  very  hard  stones  in  the 
brook  caused  the  soft  ripples.  One  look  in  the 
great,  liquid,  black  eyes  that  absorbed  everything 
and  gave  back  nothing,  took  away  the  disagreeable 
impression  and  replaced  it  with  one  more  agreeable. 
There  was  no  perceptible  pause,  for  while  Elijah's 
thoughts  were  busy  with  Helen  Lonsdale,  his  hands 
were  assorting  his  papers.  He  turned  to  Helen. 

"I  was  going  to  say,  that  I  am  afraid  this  work 
will  be  rather  dry." 

Helen  vouchsafed  no  reply,  but,  with  eyes  now 
bent  upon  her  note-book  and  pencil  ready  poised 
for  action,  waited  for  Elijah.  IU>  bc^an  rather 
slowly  and  awkwardly.  II«'  was  unaccustomed  to 
dictation,  and  besides  he  was  conscious  of  Helen 

33 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Lonsd ale's  beauty;  but  more  and  more  rapidly  he 
went  on,  as  he  forgot  all  else  in  the  absorbing  in 
terest  of  his  subject.  He  sorted  paper  from  paper, 
went  from  point  to  point,  clearly  and  logically, 
down  to  the  last  figure  that  Winston  had  given 
him.  He  hardly  noted  the  flying  fingers  and  mov 
ing  hand  that  drew  lines,  and  hooks,  and  dots,  and 
dashes  with  the  graceful  ease  and  regularity  of 
an  inanimate  machine.  At  length  he  paused,  fold 
ing  his  papers. 

Helen  threw  down  her  pencil  and  straightened 
her  cramped  fingers. 

"Well!"  she  exclaimed.  "You  have  given  me 
the  time  of  my  life !  I  was  on  the  point  of  calling 
you  off  once  or  twice;  but  I  didn't.  I'll  read  it 
over  to  you  now  and  see  if  I  have  made  any  mis 
takes." 

Elijah's  face  was  eager,  partly  from  Helen's  in 
direct  praise,  but  more  from  the  enthusiasm  of  his 
subject. 

"Aren't  you  tired?"  he  asked. 

"Tired!"  she  repeated.  "This  doesn't  make  me 
tired.  It's  more  fun  than  a  toboggan  slide.  It's 
these  everlasting  drones  who  make  me  tired.  Fel 
lows  who  haven't  anything  to  say  and  who  don't 
know  how  to  get  at  it."  She  took  her  note-book 
and  began  reading  rapidly.  Elijah  listened,  watch 
ing  her  through  his  narrowed  eyes.  She  laid  her 
note-book  down. 

34 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"How  is  it!" 

"Perfect.     You've  got  everything." 

' '  That 's  a  great  piece  of  work  you  've  got  blocked 
out."  Helen's  voice  was  approving. 

"The  work  is  not  mine." 

"No?"    Helen's  eyes  were  opened  wide. 

"No."  Elijah's  face  drooped  in  reverent  lines. 
'  *  It  has  been  given  me  to  do. '  * 

"A-a-h!"  Helen  dared  to  commit  herself  no 
farther.  She  could  not  trust  her  eyes  even.  Her 
lids  veiled  them  and  her  face  assumed  a  look  of 
non-committal  interest.  Elijah  was  a  new  species. 
She  had  no  pigeonhole,  even  in  the  wide  experience 
of  her  limited  years,  ready  made  into  which  she 
could  thrust  him. 

Elijah  felt  impelled  to  go  farther.  He  wanted 
to  look  again  into  the  great,  black  eyes.  He  steered 
boldly  into  a  sea  where  many  a  time  before  no  less 
confident  mariners  had  as  boldly  entered  and  had 
come  to  grief. 

He  told  of  his  coming  to  California,  of  his  life 
after  reaching  his  goal,  and  how,  little  by  little,  the 
great  work  he  was  engaged  upon  had  been  revealed 
to  him.  lie  did  not  speak  freely  at  first,  only  wln-n 
he  saw  recognition  and  appreciation  in  Helen's 
face.  If  she  was  surprised  at  the  freedom  with 
which  Elijah  spoke  to  her,  she  was  too  wise  to  show 
it.  Though  not  heralding  the  fact,  she  never  tried 
to  conceal  that  she  was  not  in  business  for  her 

35 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

health  or  from  purely  philanthropic  motives.  She 
was  no  innocent  fledgeling,  nor  was  her  knowledge 
purchased  with  sacrifice.  Individuality  was  the  at 
mosphere  which  surrounded  her;  an  atmosphere 
where  everyone  was  somebody  or  nobody.  She  was 
simply  determined  to  be  somebody.  She  was  beau 
tiful.  She  knew  that.  She  had  a  clear,  alert  mind, 
a  quick  grasp,  a  ready  tact,  a  capacity  for  throwing 
herself  heart  and  soul  into  any  work  that  came  to 
her  hands  to  do.  She  valued  these  as  effective  tools 
with  which  to  shape  her  ambition,  to  individualize 
herself,  to  get  on  in  the  world.  She  had  a  heart; 
but  of  this  she  was  not  conscious.  She  had  innate 
honesty  and  she  was  a  woman.  It  had  never  oc 
curred  to  her  that  a  woman 's  heart  and  a  woman's 
sense  of  honor  were  liable  to  become  paradoxes  with 
the  certain  death  of  one.  She  looked  frankly  at 
Elijah,  not  concealing  her  interest. 

"Your  work  is  the  kind  of  thing  that's  going  to 
save  this  part  of  California."  Helen  spoke  with 
conviction. 

"You  don't  approve  of  all  this?"  Elijah  glanced 
toward  the  bustling  street. 

"No.  You've  been  giving  me  figures,  now  I'll 
give  you  some.  This  city,  two  miles  wide,  is  laid  out 
in  streets  three  miles  long.  Sixty  blocks  long  and 
forty  wide ;  two  thousand  four  hundred  blocks.  At 
one  hundred  dollars  a  front  foot  (that  was  the  price. 
a  few  minutes  ago),  Ysleta  is  selling  at  the  rate  of 

36 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

two  hundred  and  fifty-three  million,  four  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  dollars,  unimproved." 

Elijah  looked  at  her  in  surprise.  She  too  had 
been  thinking  in  figures  for  herself. 

"Who  gave  you  these  figures?" 

Helen  laughed.  She  had  noted  Elijah's  surprise 
and  had  divined  its  cause. 

'Wait.  That  isn't  all.  Before  there  can  be  any 
solid  returns  in  this  investment,  it  will  have  to  be 
trebled  at  least,  for  sewers,  pavements,  sidewalks, 
and  buildings.  We  will  leave  out  odd  hundred 
thousands,  only  millions  count  now."  She  smiled* 
"Seven  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars  at  least. 
Let's  see  about  the  population.  At  five  hundred 
and  twenty  to  the  block,  Ysleta  should  have  a  popu 
lation  of  one  million,  two  hundred  and  forty  thou 
sand.  Quite  a  neat  little  town  for  a  new  country!" 

Elijah's  surprise  grew.  Helen  was  not  even  con 
sulting  notes. 

"The  total  population  of  California  isn't  a  mil 
lion  today.  Most  of  these  are  miners,  the  next 
greater  part  live  in  towns.  Hardly  half  are  en 
gaged  in  agriculture.  How  would  Ysleta  be  fed, 
where  would  it  get  money  to  pay?" 

Elijah's  face  showed  still  greater  surprise. 

"What  put  these  figures  into  your  head?" 

Helen  laughed  sarcastically. 

"I  was  advised  to  invest  in  building  lots,  so  I 
looked  the  matter  up.  I  am  jrivinpr  you  these  figures 

37 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

so  you  can  see  that  I  know  how  to  appreciate  what 
your  work  means. ' '  Her  face  sobered.  She  screwed 
paper  and  carbons  into  her  machine  and  opened 
her  note-book.  She  did  not  raise  her  eyes  from  her 
work. 

"Don't  wait,  Mr.  Berl.  I'll  have  the  work  done 
in  three  hours." 

Elijah  left  the  office  half  dazed.  Every  word  of 
Helen  Lonsdale  smote  hard  and  deep.  Not  alone 
because  of  their  surprising  nature,  but  because  his 
own  work  had  never  before  appeared  so  worth 
while.  Heretofore  it  had  only  appeared  great  in 
itself.  Now  it  stood  out  gigantic  by  contrast.  He 
was  pleasantly  conscious  of  another  element  that 
was  entering  his  life  for  the  first  time;  the  sym 
pathetic  interest  of  an  intelligent  woman. 

Punctually  at  the  appointed  time,  Elijah  re 
turned.  Helen  was  still  busily  at  work. 

"Am  I  too  soon?"  he  asked. 

She  handed  him  a  neatly  enclosed  package. 

"That's  all  right,  I  think.  Do  you  want  to  open 
an  account,  or  will  this  be  all?" 

Elijah  spoke  very  deliberately. 

"I  will  open  an  account.  I  shall  have  more 
work." 

"Very  well.  I  send  out  monthly  statements  to 
my  regular  customers."  Her  eyes  were  again  fol 
lowing  her  note-book,  her  fingers  working  at  the 
rattling  keys. 

38 


CHAPTER  FOUR 

It  was  well  that  the  work  which  Helen  was  doing 
when  Elijah  left  the  office  was  mechanical,  else  it 
might  have  lacked  the  finish  which  made  her  in 
demand  above  all  others.  She  could  not  keep  her 
thoughts  from  this  man  and  his  work.  With  a 
frown,  she  glanced  at  her  watch.  Returning  it  to 
her  belt,  she  drew  her  finished  work  from  her  ma 
chine  and  began  to  put  the  office  in  order.  She 
stood  absently  before  a  mirror  as  she  pinned  her 
hat  in  place,  turning  with  perfunctory  pats  here 
and  there,  touching  a  stray  lock  into  order  and 
smoothing  down  her  gown.  She  passed  out  into  the 
street,  locking  the  door  behind  her,  and  turned  to 
Winston's  office.  Her  light  footsteps  as  she  entered, 
did  not  arouse  his  attention.  For  a  moment  she 
stood,  looking  at  him  as  he  bent  over  his  work. 

"You  are  cordial,  I  must  confess." 

Ralph  looked  up. 

1 '  Ah !  What 's  the  matter  ? ' '  he  concluded,  noting 
her  sober  face. 

"What  is  the  matter!" 

"Why,  you're  as  solemn  as  an  owl." 

"Do  you  object  to  my  sitting  down  for  a  mo 
ment!" 

39 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Not  for  two  moments.  I'm  glad  to  see  you." 
Winston  rose  hastily  and  swung  a  chair  into  posi 
tion. 

" That's  better,7'  she  approved. 

"Good!  Now  if  you'll  get  better,  I  shall  know 
where  I'm  at." 

"I've  come  here  to  find  out  where  I'm  at." 

"If  you  are  lost,  it's  the  first  time,  I'm  thinking, 
and  I'm  not  so  sure  that  I  can  set  you  straight." 

"  I  '11  take  my  chances.    Who  is  Elijah  Berl  ? ' ' 

Winston  laughed. 

"Oh,  he's  gotten  hold  of  you,  has  he?" 

"No,  he  hasn't ;  but  I  want  to  get  hold  of  him  to 
the  extent  of  five  thousand  dollars.  That  is  the 
limit  of  my  cash  money." 

Winston  smiled  tolerantly. 

"Elijah  has  certainly  missed  his  calling.  If  he 
can  work  you  up  five  thousand  dollars'  worth  in  an 
hour  or  so,  I'll  play  him  the  limit  against  Wall 
street." 

"No  you  won't.    You  don't  know  Elijah  Berl." 

"Then  what  are  you  asking  me  about  him  for?" 

"Oh!  that  was  just  a  starter.  I  had  to  begin 
somewhere." 

"Isn't  five  thousand  dollars  a  pretty  heavy 
starter  for  you,  Helen?"  Winston  asked  the  ques 
tion  soberly,  for  he  saw  that  Helen  was  in  earnest. 

"No.    I've  kept  out  of  Ysleta  because  it  wasn't 

40 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

worth  while.  I  want  to  get  into  Las  Cruces  because 
it  is." 

"It  may  be,  Helen.  It  is  full  of  promise,  but  it 
may  not  mature.  I  know  the  proposition  pretty 
thoroughly  and  I  know  Elijah  Berl.  The  elements 
of  this  may  not  be  so  solid  as  they  appear." 

"The  watershed  is  all  right,  isn't  it?" 

"Without  a  question." 

'  *  The  water  can  be  brought  from  the  reservoir  to 
the  lands?" 

"No  question  about  that,  either." 

"And  the  land  is  fertile  and  suited  to  oranges?" 

"That's  true  too,  but  it  needs  money." 

"You '11  get  that  all  right." 

"I  expect  to,  without  doubt." 

Helen  had  spoken  with  growing  animation. 

"Then  the  whole  doubt  in  your  mind  centres  in 
Elijah  Berl?" 

"You've  hit  it  exactly." 

"And  yet  you  are  a  friend  of  Elijah's?"  There 
was  a  touch  of  contempt  in  her  voice. 

"Yes." 

"Then  I  must  say  that  I  don't  value  your  friend 
ship  quite  so  highly  as  I  did."  Helen  made  no  at 
tempt  to  conceal  her  disapproval. 

Winston  spoke  deliberately,  weighing  every 
word. 

"I'm  sorry  to  hear  you  say  that,  Helen.  Your 
friendship  means  a  great  deal  to  me.  Just  remem- 

41 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

her  that  in  a  way  you  have  come  to  me  for  advice. 
If  not  advice  exactly,  you  really  ask  for  the  ap 
proval  of  what  I  cannot  approve  without  reserve. 
I  have  counted  you  as  my  friend.  If  I  have  seemed 
to  be  a  traitor  to  Elijah,  it  is  only  that  I  might  be 
true  to  you.  I  would  not  say  to  any  one  else  what 
I  have  said  to  you." 

Helen's  resentment  died  away  before  Winston's 
words. 

"You  haven't  answered  my  first  question  yet. 
You  seem  able,  if  you  only  will. ' ' 

"In  a  way,  yes.    Elijah  Berl  and  I  are  partners." 

"Partners!"  Helen  did  not  try  to  conceal  her 
surprise. 

"Yes.  The  agreement  was  signed  today.  Elijah 
was  more  than  generous  in  his  terms." 

"And  yet  you  could  say  what  you  did  of  him !" 

"Yes.  I  gave  him  fair  warning.  I  didn't  tell 
him  in  so  many  words  that  I  distrusted  him;  I 
simply  said  that  our  different  views  of  things  might 
in  the  future  bring  us  into  conflict.  If  he  couldn't 
understand  that,  it  was  useless  to  say  more." 

"And  yet,  distrusting  him,  you  have  tied  your 
self  to  him.  It  doesn't  seem  quite  harmonious  to 
me  and  not  a  bit  like  you." 

"It  isn't  harmonious.  Nothing  is,  for  that  mat 
ter,  unless  you  make  it  so." 

"Then  the  success  of  the  whole  business  depends 
upon  your  ability  to  manage  Elijah  Berl?" 

42 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"That's  about  the  gist  of  it." 
"Yours  must  be  a  comfortable  state  of  mind." 
There  was  sarcasm  in  the  voice. 

"I  am  speaking  as  freely  to  you,  Helen,  as  I  do 
to  myself.  I  thought  our  standing  would  allow 
that." 

Helen  made  no  reply.  She  sat  gazing  absently 
into  the  street.  She  was  in  an  uncomfortable  frame 
of  mind.  Twice  that  day  she  had  been  swept  hither 
and  thither  under  influences  outside  herself.  It 
was  unusual  for  her  and  it  was  discomposing.  The 
Las  Cruces  Irrigation  Company  had  looked  so 
safe  as  a  permanent  and  a  big  paying  investment, 
and  Elijah  Berl  himself  had  stirred  her  as  she  had 
never  before  been  stirred.  And  now  Ralph  Win 
ston  had  told  her  in  so  many  words  that  she  did  not 
know  what  she  was  about.  She  resented  this  hotly. 
She  resented  it  the  more  strongly,  because  she 
recognized  the  injustice  she  was  doing  Ralph.  It 
was  long  before  she  had  herself  under  control.  At 
length  she  turned  from  the  street  and  looked  at 
Winston. 

"I  had  a  letter  from  home  today." 

Winston  responded  eagerly  to  her  changed  mood. 

"How  are  they  all?" 

"Just  as  well  as  ever.  Mother  says  that  father 
bobbed  up  from  under  that  anti-debris  decision 
like  a  cork  in  salt  water.  He  says  he  is  going  to 
put  up  a  dam  that  the  debris  commission  can't  look 

43 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

over  in  a  week's  climbing.  Jimmie  is  his  ablest  as 
sistant." 

"Little  rascal!  Say,  Helen,  you  ought  to  take 
him  in  hand  and  make  him  go  to  college.  You're 
the  only  one  who  can  manage  him.  He  has  the 
making  of  one  of  the  biggest  engineers  in  the 
country." 

1 '  Why  don 't  you  try  your  hand,  Ralph  ?  Mother 
says  that  you  are  his  god  yet.  When  he  gets  cor 
nered,  he  insists  that  his  way  is  just  what  Mr.  Win 
ston  would  do,  and  there  he  sticks.  Father  and 
mother  both  ask  when  you  are  coming  back." 

Winston  shook  his  head  almost  regretfully. 

"I  sometimes  wish  I  had  never  left,  but  that's 
too  late  now.  When  I  get  a  little  despondent,  the 
roar  of  the  monitors  eating  into  the  gravel,  the 
swish  of  the  water  and  the  clatter  of  boulders  in 
the  sluices  get  into  my  ears  till  I'm  nearly  wild." 

"That  is  all  over  now.  When  I  came  away  there 
were  only  a  few  discouraged  miners  digging  in  the 
banks  and  listening  for  the  officers  to  come  around 
and  stop  even  that." 

Winston  went  on  even  more  regretfully. 

"And  I  remember  when  you  and  I  went  barefoot, 
wading  around  with  gold  pans  and  scrapping  as  to 
which  had  the  biggest  pan—' 

Helen  rose  to  go.  Her  intuition  told  her  that 
they  were  on  dangerous  ground. 

"Old  things  and  times  are  gone.    We  have  put 

44 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

away  childish  things  and  gold  pans,  for  something 
new." 

Winston  took  her  hand.  A  momentary  pressure 
on  her  part  and  she  withdrew  it.  She  could  not 
look  into  his  eyes. 

"Be  careful  about  the  new,  Helen.  There's 
fool's  gold  in  these  diggings  too." 

"  Which  reminds  me,  our  last  scrap  as  children 
was  over  that  very  thing." 

Then  the  door  closed  behind  her  and  Winston 
was  alone. 


45 


CHAPTER  FIVE 

A  country  that  has  yielded  a  billion  and  a  half 
of  gold  is,  perforce,  well  and  favorably '  known  to 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  Though  the 
stream  of  yellow  wealth  diminishes,  or  even  ceases 
to  flow,  yet  the  channel  is  carved  through  which 
the  thoughts  of  men  longingly  roll.  Upon  such  a 
land  no  limit^of  impossibility  is  placed.  Upon  what 
has  been,  the  faith  of  man  lays  the  foundations  of 
nobler  structures  yet  to  be.  The  structures  may 
rise  and  fall,  but  the  foundation  yet  remains.  It 
matters  not  to  the  builders  of  golden  castles  that, 
between  the  gold  fields  of  California  and  the  line 
that  marked  another  nation,  the  whole  of  New 
England  could  lie,  like  an  island  in  a  sea  of  desert 
sand ;  California  was  yet  California,  and  the  Pacto- 
lean  sands  of  the  Cascades  and  the  Sierras  spread 
their  yellow  sheen  over  the  whole  vast  expanse  of 
mountain,  and  valley,  and  desert. 

Winston  was  right.  The  gold  that  had  flowed 
to  the  Eastward  was  now  returning  in  heavy  waves. 
From  the  pockets  of  idle  tourists,  it  was  scattered 
with  lavish  hand.  From  the  pockets  of  gamblers, 

46 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

it  came  also ;  gamblers  who,  with  trembling  fingers, 
placed  their  gold  on  checkered  town-lots,  and 
waited  for  the  spinning  wheel  to  return  it  with 
usury,  and  went  out  white  and  haggard  when  the 
croupier  declared  against  them.  It  came  in  the 
pockets  of  shrewd-eyed  men  who  parted  with  it  for 
a  proper  consideration,  or  not  at  all. 

Into  this  stream  of  wealth,  Winston  was  plan 
ning  to  build  his  dam.  His  efforts  were  rewarded 
more  abundantly  and  sooner  than  either  he  or  the 
more  sanguine  Elijah  had  expected. 

Elijah  had  suggested  a  movement  on  the  specula 
tors  in  Ysleta  lots,  but  against  this  Winston  had 
set  his  hand. 

"We  don't  want  floaters;  we  want  stayers.  I 
met  a  man  in  the  crowd  yesterday  who's  a  stayer 
all  right.  I  think  he'll  come  in.  If  he  does,  it  will 
make  me  feel  good  in  more  ways  than  one.  He's 
got  money  and  he's  got  a  head  that  tells  him  where 
there's  more." 

"What's  his  name?" 

"Seymour.  He'll  be  in,  in  a  day  or  two,  to  look 
the  matter  up.  That  young  orange  grove  of  yours 
took  his  hard  head  by  storm.  He  didn't  do  a  thing 
yesterday  but  roll  those  navels  that  Amy  gave  him, 
in  his  list,  all  the  way  down.  He  would  ha\v  rubbed 
them  under  his  nose  if  he  hadn't  boon  afraid  to 
trust  his  teeth.  As  it  was,  he  kept  smelling  of  his 

47 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

fingers.  Didn't  say  a  word!"  Winston  laughed. 
"It  makes  us  feel  good,  doesn't  it,  Elijah?" 

A  few  days  later,  they  were  again  in  Winston's 
office,  awaiting  the  coming  of  Seymour. 

Winston  turned  to  Elijah. 

"You  remember  Helen  Lonsdale?" 

"Yes,  what  about  her?"  Elijah  looked  up  ques- 
tioningly. 

"What  did  you  make  out  of  her?" 

"She  appeared  to  be  a  very  able  young  woman." 

"You  don't  think  she  would  get  stampeded  very 
easily,  do  you?" 

' '  I  hardly  think  so. ' '  Elijah  smiled.  ' '  She  gave 
me  some  very  telling  reasons  for  keeping  out  of 
Ysleta  lots." 

"And  you  gave  her  some  pretty  convincing  rea 
sons  for  thinking  that  orange  trees  on  a  hillside 
would  grow  better  crops  than  corner  stakes  on  a 
sand  dune." 

"What  makes  you  think  so?" 

"Because  you  hadn't  been  gone  an  hour  before 
she  was  in  here  and  wanted  to  know  if  she  could 
get  into  this  building  on  the  ground  floor.  She 
said  she  had  a  few  thousands  that  she  wanted  to  put 
in  a  good  thing." 

"You  told  her  'yes,'  didn't  you?"  Elijah's  voice 
was  eager. 

"I  told  her  'no.'" 

"You  ought  to  have  taken  her  up." 

48 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"I  don't  know  about  that.  This  business  is  a 
sure  thing  one  way,  but  in  another,  it  isn't.  It's 
a  big  thing.  If  we  can  swing  it,  it's  all  right.  If 
a  n't,  it's  going  to  go  hard  with  the  small  fry. 
I  may  want  to  look  into  those  big  black  eyes  of  hers 
again  sometime.'* 

"Why  haven't  you  introduced  me  to  Helen 
Lonsdale  before?" 

Winston  was  surprised,  more  at  the  manner  of 
Elijah's  question  than  at  the  question  itself.  He 
shifted  the  onus  of  the  surprise  to  Elijah's  shoul 
ders. 

"  Why  should  I?"  he  asked  bluntly. 

"That's  a  Yankee  trick,  not  a  Calif ornian's,"  re 
torted  Elijah. 

'  I'm  not  too  old  to  learn." 

Elijah  laughed  consciously. 

"It  doesn't  matter.    We're  acquainted  now." 

"It's  up  to  you  to  make  it  worth  her  while  to 
it  up.  She's  rather  particular  about  her 
friends." 

Elijah  was  irritated,  and  not  for  the  first  time 
in  his  relations  with  Winston.  Winston  seemed  to 
him  to  be  contradictory.  At  times  he  was  defer 
ential  to  the  point  of  enthusiasm ;  at  times  reserved, 
if  not  cynical.  Elijah  was  not  a  close  reasoner 
and  he  failed  to  understand  that  Winston's  prin 
ciples  were  a  kind  of  moral  straight-edge  which  he 

49 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

applied  impartially.  Winston  had  no  hesitancy  in 
calling  attention  to  discrepancies. 

"  Helen  Londsdale  is  a  mighty  bright  girl.  She 
may  be  of  use  to  us/'  hazarded  Elijah. 

Winston's  momentary  glance  was  searching. 

' '  I  expect  she  will  be, ' '  he  answered  curtly. 

After  a  short  pause,  Elijah  resumed  the  broken 
conversation. 

"You're  going  for  Seymour?" 

"Oh,  yes.  That's  all  right.  A  few  hundred 
thousand  wouldn't  hurt  Seymour.  Five  thousand 
would  break  Helen  Lonsdale.  Beside,  if  Seymour 
takes  hold  of  it,  it's  going." 

Elijah  changed  the  point  bluntly. 

"Well,  who's  going  to  do  the  talking?  You've 
done  all  the  work  and  made  out  the  estimates ;  you'd 
better.  We  don't  want  to  make  any  mistakes." 

"That's  all  right  Elijah,  but  it  isn't  always  the 
folks  who  make  the  cartridges  that  shoot  the 
straightest.  I  '11  stand  by  to  furnish  ammunition  if 
you  run  short,  but  you  work  the  trigger."  Win 
ston  laughed.  "I  loaded  him  with  estimates  and 
facts.  They're  good  so  far  as  they  go;  but  you 
know  that  champagne  is  pretty  flat  without  the  fizz. 
Here  he  comes  now." 

A  man  of  medium  height  entered  the  office.  There 
was  more  than  a  suggestion  of  iron  about  him. 
Iron-gray  hair  and  mustache ;  steely,  quick  moving 
eyes,  but  not  restless;  hard  lines  that  blocked  out 

50 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

close-set  lips;  a  firm  decided  step.  Withal,  a  not 
unpleasant  man;  but  one  who  suggested  that  the 
pleasure  of  acquiring  money  and  the  pleasure  of 
spending  it,  had  appropriate  and  distinct  seasons. 
He  acknowledged  Winston's  introduction  with  a 
quick  look  at  Elijah. 

"From  what  Mr.  Winston  said,  I  expected  to 
meet  an  older  man,  Mr.  Berl." 

"That's  all  right,  Mr.  Seymour, "  Winston  put 
in.  "We  don't  put  new  wine  in  old  bottles  out 
here.  This  is  a  new  country.  Elijah  is  a  new 
man,  and  he's  chuck  full  of  new  ideas." 

"I'm  getting  near  enough  to  the  age  limit  to 
make  your  figure  rather  doubtful,  so  far  as  I  am 
concerned."  Seymour's  features  relaxed  in  a  grim 
smile  as  he  pointed  to  his  gray  hair. 

"  \Ve  don't  count  a  horse  old,  so  long  as  he  can 
kick  the  top  rail  off  a  fence." 

Seymour  looked  closely  at  Winston,  but  made 
no  reply.  He  began  to  talk  with  Elijah.  At  first, 
Elijah  was  conscious  of  the  momentous  importance 
of  the  interview :  but  this  did  not  prevent  him  from 
grasping  the  import  of  Seymour's  questions  and 
answering  clearly  and  to  the  point.  Gradually  he 
lost  himself  in  his  subject  and  poured  forth  fact 
after  fact,  estimate  on  estimate,  with  such  rapidity 
that  Seymour  felt  compelled  at  times  to  interrupt 
him. 

"This  is  new  business  to  me,  Mr.  Berl.    I  can't 

51 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

keep  up  with  you."  He  spoke  sharply,  almost  im 
patiently,  but  his  manner  showed  that  he  was 
deeply  impressed,  both  with  the  proposition  and 
with  Elijah  himself. 

"That  is  a  strong  presentation  of  your  proposi 
tion,  Mr.  Berl.  Now  I  want  a  few  definite  answers 
to  definite  questions.  As  I  understand  you,  you 
propose  to  do  something  entirely  new.  What  war 
rant  have  you  for  believing  that  oranges  can  be 
successfully  grown  in  this  district  ?  Oranges  are  a 
tropical  fruit." 

"People  are  used  to  thinking  that  oranges  are  a 
tropical  fruit.  They  aren't.  Look  at  Spain,  and 
France,  and  Italy.  They  are  famous  for  this  very 
fruit.  Here,"  Elijah  swept  his  hands  around, 
"those  conditions  are  reproduced.  Here  are  the 
San  Bernadinos,  there  the  Pacific,  between  are  des 
ert  hills.  Bring  water  to  this  sunshine  and  soil, 
and  California  will  become  the  garden  of  the  New 
World." 

Seymour  smiled  at  Elijah's  enthusiasm.  His 
words  were  fervid,  but  Seymour  realized  their 
truth. 

"That's  all  right  for  Spain,  and  Italy  and  the 
rest;  but  those  countries  are  only  a  few  hours  by 
water  from  three  hundred  millions  of  people,  while 
California  is  six  days  by  rail  from  sixty  millions, 
and  high  rate  express  at  that." 

Elijah's  face  lost  none  of  its  assurance;  but  his 

52 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

ryes  half  closed  as  he  grasped  Seymour's  import. 
He  answered  with  less  fire  but  no  less  conviction. 

"I'll  take  your  estimate  of  sixty  millions  and  six 
days  express.  Suppose  that  each  of  those  sixty 
millions  ate  only  two  oranges  a  year,  that  calls  for 
one  hundred  and  twenty  millions.  If  these  oranges 
sold  at  five  cents,  there  are  six  million  dollars  in  a 
year.  That's  worth  while,  isn't  it?" 

Seymour  nodded  assent  and  Elijah  resumed.  He 
pointed  out  the  cost  of  the  land,  of  water,  the  care 
of  the  orchards,  express  rates  and  other  charges. 

"Taking  all  this  into  account,  your  net  yield  on 
your  investment  will  be  at  least  fifteen  percent." 

Seymour  again  smiled. 

"That's  all  right  too;  but  it  hasn't  been  proved 
that  California  will  produce  one  hundred  and 
twenty  million  oranges." 

Elijah  was  nettled.  It  irritated  him  to  be  ques 
tioned  too  closely.  He  was  too  thoroughly  con 
vinced,  too  thoroughly  in  earnest. 

"No  one  believed  in  the  Western  hemisphere  till 
Columbus  found  it." 

Seymour  paid  no  attention  to  Elijah's  impa 
tience.  He  had  a  concentrated  look  on  his  face. 
II'  spoke  again  sharply  and  decidedly. 

"You  believe  in  this  thing.  So  do  I.  If  suitable 
t.Tins  can  be  arranged,  I  am  prepared  to  back  my 
belief  with  cash." 

"To  what  extent?"  Elijah  asked  briefly. 

53 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"A  hundred  thousand  or  so.  Think  over  what 
you  will  do  and  I  will  be  in  again,  in  an  hour. 
If  your  terms  are  all  right,  I'll  get  the  money  for 
you  at  once."  He  left  the  office. 

Elijah  turned  jubilantly  to  Winston. 

"We're  all  right  now." 

"For  a  starter."    Winston  was  sober. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  Elijah  spoke  sharply. 

"We've  got  a  hundred  thousand  dollars.  That's 
one  thing.  Now  it's  up  to  us  to  make  it  pay. 
That's  another."  Winston  did  not  lack  confidence 
or  faith.  He  was  realizing  his  responsibilities. 

They  began  arranging  terms  for  the  transfer  of 
an  interest.  Elijah,  full  of  the  enthusiasm  of  suc 
cess,  could  hardly  pin  himself  down  to  details.  His 
years  of  dreams  were  being  realized.  He  was  look 
ing  upon  a  step  as  taken.  With  his  foot  as  yet 
hardly  lifted,  already  he  was  looking  toward  other 
paths.  Winston  held  him  down  to  the  present. 

At  the  appointed  hour,  Seymour  reappeared. 
The  terms  offered  were  satisfactory. 

"I  must  get  back  East  and  attend  to  my  other 
business.  I  shall  have  to  trust  this  to  you." 

Perhaps  it  was  a  mistake;  but  Winston  had  the 
feeling  that  Seymour's  eyes  rested  upon  him  with 
his  last  words,  that  it  was  to  him  that  the  work  was 
entrusted,  that  upon  him  was  the  responsibility, 
that  he  would  be  the  one  called  to  account.  This 

54 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

did  not  oppress  him ;  it  sobered  him.    As  Seymour 
finally  left  the  office,  Winston  turned  to  Elijah. 
"It's  up  to  us  now  to  show  what  there  is  in  us." 


55 


CHAPTER  SIX 

It  did  not  follow  because  Seymour  had  promised 
to  back  the  Las  Cruces  Water  Company  to  the  ex 
tent  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  that  he  in- 
tended  to  put  in  that  amount  of  his  own  money; 
nor  because  he  had  promised  a  certain  sum,  that 
that  sum  was  the  limit.  He  had  become  thoroughly 
convinced  that  the  enterprise  was  well  conceived 
and  that  with  proper  management  it  was  bound 
to  succeed  and  to  " succeed  big."  He  wisely  con 
cluded  that  those  who  had  conceived  the  project 
and  had  figured  out  so  minutely  the  cost  and  detail, 
were  the  proper  ones  to  trust  with  its  execution. 
He  was  too  cold  blooded  to  be  figurative,  but  Win 
ston's  figure  to  Elijah  exactly  expressed  his  attitude 
of  mind.  Elijah  furnished  the  fizz  of  enthusiasm, 
while  Winston  supplied  the  necessary  body  to  the 
wine,  with  his  well-balanced,  matter-of-fact  mind. 
There  was  nothing  in  his  contract  to  prevent  his 
disposing  at  par  of  one  half  of  the  two  hundred 
thousand  shares  which  he  had  acquired  at  fifty, 
and  this  was  the  step  which  he  proposed  to  take 
and  which  he  did  take.  He  too  regarded  the  la 
borer  as  worthy  of  his  hire. 

56 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BEKI, 

Mr.    Seymour    was    a    business    man.      lie    was 
shivwd  and  he  was  very  successful.    It  did  not  nee-   j 

irily  follow  that  he  was  unscrupulous.  In  fact, 
from  a  purely  business  standpoint,  he  was  not ;  but 
he  had  no  Quixotic  limitations  to  the  end  that  he 
was  his  brother's  keeper.  The  world  was  full  of 
disastrous  mistakes;  he  took  it  as  he  found  it.  He 
did  not  count  as  a  sin  of  his  own,  the  omission  to  do 
good  unto  others  when  opportunity  offered ;  but  he 
regarded  the  opportunity  as  an  indication  of  sin  or 
at  least  of  poor  judgment  in  his  fellow.  He  was  a 
church  communicant  in  good  and  regular  standing; 
but  religion  was  one  thing,  business  another.  He 
did  not  search  the  scriptures  either  for  approbation 
or  for  defense.  He  acted  upon  the  principle  that 
offenses  must  be  and  that  woe  was  the  lot  of  the  one 
through  whom  they  came.  The  woo  that  was  visited 
upon  the  offender  was  in  reality  no  less  a  reward  of 
merit  than  the  benefit  which  accrued  to  the  one  who 

vise  enough  to  take  advantage  of  the  offense. 
He  never  pointed  to  the  decaloirue  with  the  SMIULT 

•;<>n  that  this  had  been  kept  from  his  youth 
up.  If  his  business  record  did  not  show  this,  words 
would  be  useless.  lie  wasted  no  love  on  his  neigh-  J 
bor,  for  love  was  a  dissipater  of  energy.  Love 
engendered  pity,  pity  sacrifice,  and  sacrifice  pre 
cluded  success.  Every  tub  must  stand  on  its  own 
bottom.  If  his  neighbor's  tub  leaked,  it  was  his 
neighbor's  fault  for  not  keeping  it  calked.  His 

57 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

neighbor  had  no  ground  for  complaint  if  the  liquor 
which  he  spilled,  was  gathered  by  a  more  fitting 


Mr.  Seymour's  one  hundred  thousand  shares  of 
Las  Cruces  had  cost  him  nothing,  save  a  little  en 
ergy.  If  he  did  no  better,  he  would  have  so  much 
clear.  That  was  worth  while.  If  Winston  and 
Berl  made  a  mess  of  the  affair,  that  was  no  concern 
of  his.  One  man's  extremity  was  to  him  another 
man's  opportunity.  He  intended  to  be  the  other 
man.  Elijah  was  an  enthusiast,  Winston  a  profes 
sional  man.  Enthusiasm  would  inflate  iridescent 
bubbles,  professional  pride  would  be  an  absorbing 
end  in  itself.  Both  were  essential,  neither  would 
necessarily  supply  the  third  element  of  success, 
business  acumen.  At  the  proper  time  he  would 
supply  this  himself  and  at  his  own  price.  In  any 
event,  he  would  be  perfectly  safe. 

The  orderly  bustle  which  succeeded  Seymour's 
departure,  argued  well  for  the  success  of  the  new 
company.  Experienced  Ysleta  boomers  saw  in 
"Las  Cruces"  a  new  kind  of  boom,  and  beyond  of 
fering  to  put  their  experience  and  methods  at  the 
service  of  the  new  company,  did  nothing  further. 
The  idea  of  taking  up  land  on  a  venture  near 
Elijah's  ranch,  was  discussed,  but  the  conclusion 
was  reached  that  this  land  was  too  far  from  Ysleta 
to  be  advantageous  and  that  attention  distracted 
from  their  own  kettle  of  fish  would  result  in  the 

58 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

deadening  of  the  fires  that  wore  keeping  their  own 
pot  boilinpr. 

The  division  of  the  entailed  labor  fell  naturally. 
The  engineering  work  demanded  Winston's  pres 
ence  in  the  field.  The  office  duties  fell  to 
Elijah.  It  was  Winston  who  suggested  to  Elijah 
the  necessity  of  a  bookkeeper  and  that  there  was 
no  one  better  fitted  in  every  way  than  Helen  Lons- 
dale.  Winston  had  no  doubts  of  Elijah's  inten 
tional  integrity  and  he  had  great  confidence  in 
Helen  Lonsdale's  ability  both  in  business  and  in 
looking  out  for  herself.  So  she  was  installed  as  an 
essential  feature  of  the  company.  She  felt  herself 
in  a  position  of  great  and  growing  responsibility. 

Days  slipped  into  weeks  and  weeks  into  months 
with  the  easy  motion  of  well-organized  work. 
Helen  hardly  surpassed  Winston's  expectations, 
but  as  he  darted  in  and  out  of  the  office,  full  of  his 
work,  he  felt  no  more  than  a  passing  sense  of  satis 
faction  at  the  readiness  with  which  everything  that 
he  wanted  came  to  his  hands.  Helen  might  have  a 
personal  pride  in  never  being  caught  unprepared, 
but  she  never  displayed  the  emotion.  It  was  Win 
ston  himself  who  was  first  caught  off  his  guard. 
II o  rushed  into  the  office  one  afternoon  with  a  look 
of  annoyance,  almost  of  disgust  on  his  face. 

"I've  made  a  moss,  Ilelon.  I  want  you  to  help 
me  out." 

59 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

' '  Short  of  powder  at  No.  1  ? "  Helen  hardly  looked 
up  from  her  work. 

"Yes.    How  did  you  know?" 

"I  ordered  two  tons  from  the  magazine.  It's  on 
its  way  there  now. ' ' 

"Good!  But  how  did  you  know  that  I  was 
short  ?" 

"From  the  reports.  I  thought  you  wouldn't  be 
in,  so  I  ordered  it." 

"You  are  a  jewel,  Helen.  I  haven't  had  time  to 
tell  you  so  before,  but  I've  known  it  all  along." 

"Jewels  are  ornamental,  not  useful." 

"You  are  both." 

Helen  glanced  at  the  clock. 

"Office  hours  aren't  over  yet  and  the  company 
isn't  paying  me  to  trade  sugar  plums." 

"All  right.    I'll  see  you  off  shift  sometime." 

Elijah 's  work  kept  him  much  in  the  office  and  he 
was  held  to  business  quite  as  closely  as  was  Winston. 
Helen  showed  her  appreciation  of  his  work  by  say 
ing  nothing,  but  doing  everything  that  came  to 
her  hands.  He  longed  to  drink  of  the  sparkling 
waters  of  his  dreams,  and  with  all  that  was  in  her, 
Helen  was  trying  to  convert  these  iridescent 
dreams  into  material  facts.  Elijah  longed  also  to 
see  Helen's  eyes  kindle,  to  hear  her  words  of  com 
mendation;  but  she  never  spoke  now  of  his  idea. 
Thus  it  happened  that  one  phase  of  his  nature  was 
hungered,  the  other  fully  satisfied. 

60 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Poor  Amy  was  the  only  party  to  the  new  order  of 
things  who  was  unhappy.  She  had  accepted  the 
necessity  of  Elijah's  absence  at  the  Ysleta  office, 
not  with  resignation,  but  with  unprotesting  grief. 
She  regarded  this  as  the  dregs  of  her  cup  of  bit 
terness;  but  when  she  learned  of  Elijah's  assistant, 
she  discovered  her  mistake.  She  mourned  over  his 
absence,  yet  utterly  refused  to  consider  the  idea  of 
moving  to  Ysleta.  He  must  come  to  her  at  her 
bidding;  she  could  not  bring  herself  to  go  to  him 
at  his.  This  was  her  touchstone  of  love  and  devo 
tion.  It  was  failing  her,  and  in  sackcloth  and  ashes 
she  was  mourning  it.  She  made  a  brave  attempt  at 
cheerfulness  when  Elijah  broached  the  subject,  but 
she  could  neither  keep  the  color  in  her  cheeks  nor 
her  lips  steady  when  she  made  reply. 

* '  Don 't  ask  me,  Elijah.    I  can 't  bear  it. ' ' 

"Why?"  he  asked  in  surprise. 

"Because,"  she  paused  for  a  moment.  "We 
have  been  here  almost  four  years,  just  you,  and  I 
and  th«'  children.  Every  spot  of  it  is  a  part  of  you. 
It  would  be  like  death  to  leave  it.  While  you  are 
away,  I  shall  look  forward  to  your  coming  back. 
If  I  should  go  to  Ysleta,  you  wouldn't  be  coming 
back." 

"Of  course  not.  I 'd  be  there  all  the  time.  You 'd 
have  lots  of  company.  I  could  run  in  to  lunch  and 
bring  my  friends."  Elijah  lifted  his  head  and 
squared  his  shoulders.  lie  caught  not  the  slightest 

61 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

glimpse  of  Amy's  real  feeling.  His  words  and 
gestures  showed  that  only  too  plainly  even  to  her. 

Amy  smiled  wanly. 

"I  wouldn't  have  you  all  to  myself  there.  I 
would  rather  have  you  all  to  myself  part  of  the 
time,  than  part  of  you  all  the  time."  It  was  a  tre 
mendous  thought  for  Amy.  She  almost  stood  in 
awe  of  herself  over  its  utterance. 

"You  are  a  silly  goose."  Elijah  caught  her  in 
his  arms  and  swung  her  to  and  fro  as  if  she  were 
a  child.  "You  have  me  all  the  time,  wherever  I 
am." 

Amy  lay  in  his  arms  with  closed  eyes.  The  color 
came  back  to  her  face.  It  was  only  a  dream;  a 
dream  of  what  had  been.  She  knew  it  was  only  a 
dream  and  she  tried  to  close  her  mental  eyes  to  this 
knowledge.  She  was  aroused  when  Elijah  set  her 
on  her  feet. 

"I  have  lots  to  do  at  the  office  now." 

Amy's  face  showed  a  sudden  gleam  of  inspiration. 

* '  Couldn  't  I  be  in  the  office  with  you  ? ' ' 

*  *  Of  course  not,  goose.    You  'd  be  in  the  way. ' ' 

"Is  the  bookkeeper  in  the  way?"  The  words 
were  almost  gasped. 

"Of  course  not.  She'd  be  in  the  way  if  she 
wasn't  there." 

"Why?"  The  word  was  spoken  perforce  and 
with  fear. 

62 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Because  I  couldn't  get  along  without  her.  She's 
no  end  of  help  to  me  in  my  work." 

"Couldn't  I  help  you?    I  would  try  hard." 

Elijah  laughed  long  and  loud.  Not  brutally,  at 
least  he  had  no  intention  of  brutality;  but  the 
thought  of  Amy's  doing  Helen  Lonsdale's  work  in 
cited  his  thoughtless  mirth.  It  was  inconsiderate 
rather  than  thoughtless,  for  he  had  not  personified 
Amy's  words.  Her  white  face  brought  the  truth 
home.  He  grew  sober. 

'  Xot  the  way  you  mean,  Amy.  You  will  have 
to  help  me  in  your  way,  and  Miss  Lonsdale  in  an 
other.  Goodbye,  dear.  Don't  scare  yourself  with 
pictures,  as  I  said  before." 

Amy  watched  him  as  on  a  former  occasion;  then 
she  had  thought  her  lot  hard.  She  would  now  be 
glad  to  exchange  forever  and  to  ask  no  more.  Then, 
she  feared.  Now  she  knew  that  there  were  others, 
In-side  herself,  upon  whom  Elijah  depended. 
Farther,  she  could  not  go,  for  she  could  not  see  her 
<;wn  limitations. 

At  his  office  in  Ysleta,  Elijah  found  Helen  Lons 
dale  bent  over  a  map  and  oblivious  to  her  surround 
ings.  A  pad  and  pencil  were  at  her  elbow.  She  was 
tracing  the  map  with  one  finger  which  occasionally 
recurred  to  one  point,  while  with  the  other  hand 
she  was  apparently  recording  memoranda.  Fin 
ally  the  maps  were  pushed  aside  and  pad  and  pen 
cil  absorbed  her  entire  attention.  There  were  pauses 

63 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

during  which  she  looked  at  the  map,  ran  over  her 
figures  and  then  her  pencil  flew  over  the  pad  more 
rapidly  than  before.  At  length  she  sat  up  straight, 
spread  the  slips  of  paper  before  her,  and,  rolling 
her  pencil  meditatively  between  her  fingers,  ap 
peared  absorbed  in  thought. 

"You  seem  to  be  deeply  interested."  Elijah  was 
standing  at  the  door  of  the  inner  office. 

Helen  turned  her  head  sharply. 

"You're  just  in  time  to  sign  these  letters  before 
the  mail  closes." 

Elijah  seated  himself  at  his  desk  and  signed  the 
letters,  as  one  by  one,  she  placed  them  before  him. 

"Do  you  want  to  look  them  over?"  she  asked. 

"No,  you  never  make  mistakes." 

She  began  reading  and  folding  the  letters. 

"I  think  they  are  all  right.  You  stamp  them." 
She  glanced  at  the  clock.  "You'll  have  to  hurry." 

Elijah  stamped  the  letters  as  she  tossed  them  to 
him.  As  the  last  stamp  was  affixed,  she  shuffled 
them  together,  and,  with  a  glance  over  her  shoul 
der  at  the  clock,  started  through  the  door. 

"Have  the  boy  take  them  over."  Elijah  called 
out. 

"Boy  and  hurry  aren't  on  intimate  terms."  She 
was  already  on  the  threshold  of  the  outer  door.  In 
a  few  moments  she  returned.  "If  I  had  sent  the 
boy,  the  letters  would  have  lain  over  until  tomor 
row,  I  was  just  in  time."  She  drew  a  handkerchief 

64 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

over  her  flushed  face.  The  handkerchief  was  not 
purely  ornamental,  neither  did  it  suggest  unre 
fined  utilitarianism.  It  lacked  lace,  but  not  deli- 
caoy.  The  motion  that  swept  it  over  her  face  was 
decided,  but  not  harsh.  Her  movements,  as  she 
seated  herself  at  her  desk  and  turned  her  face  full 
toward  Elijah,  were  quick,  yet  rhythmic  and  grace 
ful.  There  was  masculine  alertness  and  concentra 
tion  ;  yet  both  were  softened  by  a  femininity,  unob 
trusive  but  not  to  be  ignored.  For  over  six  months, 
she  had  been  "Helen"  to  him  as  he  was  "Elijah" 
to  her.  Yet  the  barrier  between  man  and  woman 
that  seemed  so  frail,  had  effectively  obstructed  the 
path  that  led  to  intimacy. 

Elijah  was  half -conscious  of  a  longing  which  he 
could  not  express,  half-conscious  that  every  attempt 
to  gratify  it  was  repulsed  by  an  intangible  atmos 
phere  which  seemed  transparent  and  unresisting, 
yet  was  dense  and  impenetrable.  Had  he  been  able 
to  state  his  position  to  himself  at  this  time,  he  would 
have  shrunk  from  the  picture.  He  was  not  analyt 
ical,  therefore  he  did  not  know  that  the  greater 
part  of  the  sins  of  the  world  are  the  result  not  of 
deliberate  premeditation  and  decision,  but  of  the 
almost  unconscious,  initial  yielding  to  apparently 
innocent  impulses  which  should  be  recognized  for 
what  they  are,  for  what  they  may  be,  and  crushed 
out  of  existence  at  once. 

Elijah  was  strong  in  his  vision  of  possibilities, 

65 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

strong  in  his  purpose  to  wrest  success  from  the 
teeth  of  defeat,  strong  in  the  enthusiasm  that  made 
him  tingle  with  restless  impatience  to  be  doing, 
strong  in  his  power  to  kindle  others  with  the  fire 
of  his  own  purpose ;  yet  he  was  weak.  Weak  because 
of  an  unconscious,  yet  all-pervading  selfishness. 
Imperative  as  were  his  visions,  even  so  were  his  de 
sires,  and  unconsciously  both  centred  in  himself. 
As  in  the  rock-ribbed,  narrow  confines  of  his  New 
England  home,  so  in  the  desolate,  sun-burned  des 
erts  of  California,  unchecked  by  contact  with  his 
fellow  men,  his  thoughts  ran  riot  in  the  channels 
of  his  glowing  soul.  He  had  longed  for  sympathetic 
companionship ;  but  his  solitary,  isolated  life  for 
bade  it.  This  longing  had  found  gratification  in 
what  he  grew  to  believe  was  fellowship  with  God. 
His  youth  fostered  the  idea,  his  growing,  solitary 
years  developed  it  into  a  fanatical  belief.  If  he  was 
in  doubt,  he  took  refuge  in  prayer,  not  for  guid 
ance,  firmly  as  he  may  have  believed  it,  but  for  con 
firmation.  From  his  youth  up,  he  had  had  a  fanati 
cal  belief  in  the  guidance  of  Divinity,  and  had 
placed  the  Bible  as  a  lamp  to  his  feet.  Elijah 
prayed  to  God  for  guidance  in  paths  which  he 
should  have  chosen  for  himself,  blindly  putting 
aside  the  fact  that  in  the  very  seeking  for  guid 
ance,  he  was  longing  to  be  confirmed  in  a  course 
which  in  the  depths  of  his  soul  he  knew  to  be  wrong. 
Fortified  by  his  belief,  armed  by  God 's  sanction,  he 

66 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

followed  liis  desires  mercilessly  and  without  shame. 

Helen  Lonsdale  was  not  analytical,  she  was  not 
fanatical,  nor  was  she  deeply  religious.  Her  sur 
roundings  had  precluded  that.  She  had  strong 
common  sense.  When  for  lack  of  experience  this 
failed  her,  she  had  intuition.  She  moved  among 
men  fearlessly,  because  in  the  field  of  their  move 
ments,  sex  was  not  thought  of,— only  things  to  be 
done.  The  two  men  with  whom,  in  her  present  re 
lations,  her  lot  was  so  intimately  cast,  stood  re 
spectively  on  an  entirely  different  footing.  In 
their  childhood  days,  she  and  Ralph  Winston  had 
been  playmates.  Later,  they  had  been  parted  only 
to  be  thrown  into  closer  relations  by  a  strange  turn 
of  Fortune's  wheel.  She  had  welcomed  Ralph  with 
the  unreserve  of  the  days  of  their  childhood.  She 
was,  perhaps,  on  this  very  account,  unconscious  that 
his  memories  were  the  more  faithful  of  the  two. 

Elijah  had  come  into  her  life,  full-fledged,  with 
no  childish  memories  to  blur  the  outlines  of  the 
image.  However  strong  Winston  was  in  the  eyes 
of  others,  there  were  yet  in  her  eyes  the  clinging 
shreds  of  the  memory  of  other  days.  She  was  at 
tracted  by  Elijah's  enthusiasm,  the  stnn-th  of 
his  ideas,  of  his  purpose  to  succeed.  With  a 
woman's  intuition  she  saw  the  barren  stretch  of 
his  unsympathetic  surroundings,  and,  with  no 
idea  of  injustice  tin-  si-lit  prompted  her  to  give 
in  full  that  which  had  hitherto  been  denied  him. 

67 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Her  sympathy  was  aroused,  her  enthusiasm  kin 
dled  by  his  work;  but  it  was  apparently  im 
personal.  She  was  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere 
of  womanliness  as  delicate  as  an  electric  field, 
which  warned  off  and  repelled  any  disturbing 
element.  Yet  her  atmosphere  was  polar;  it  would 
respond  to  the  proper  element.  The  element  was 
existent,  but  as  yet  unrecognized. 

Elijah  again  turned  to  Helen. 

"How  are  things  going?" 

"Ralph  is  short  of  powder  and  cement  at  the 
dam.  I  sent  up  a  pack-train  this  morning.  It  will 
leave  two  tons  of  powder  at  No.  1  tunnel.  The 
magazine  is  getting  low,  but  San  Francisco  is  send 
ing  a  carload.  It  will  be  here  tomorrow.  That 
will  keep  Ralph  supplied  for  a  month.  Seymour 
writes  from  New  York  that  Las  Cruces  is  snapped 
at  one-twenty ;  that  he  is  going  to  run  it  up  to  one- 
thirty.  Everything  is  coming  our  way  on  the  run. ' ' 

"We've  got  a  pretty  heavy  balance  to  our 
credit."  Elijah  spoke  meditatively.  "Pretty 
heavy  to  carry  in  the  local  banks. ' ' 

"That's  just  what  I  was  going  to  speak  of.  I'd 
let  San  Francisco  carry  the  bulk  of  our  deposits. 
It's  solid.  The  local  banks  may  be  called  any  time. 
You  can  leave  just  enough  here  to  keep  them  good- 
natured." 

"All  right.     We'll  deposit  our  next  checks  in 

68 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

'Frisco.  What  were  you  mulling  over  this  morn 
ing?" 

Helen  laughed. 

"How  to  get  even  with  you  and  Ralph." 

1  'Get  even  with  us!"  Elijah  looked  at  her  in  sur 
prise. 

"Yes." 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"You  wouldn't  let  me  into  Las  Cruces  on  the 
ground  floor,  so  I  am  planning  a  building  of  my 
own." 

"That  was  Ralph's  doing;  he  didn't  want  you  to 
run  the  risk  of  losing." 

* '  My  five  thousand  was  as  good,  so  far  as  it  went, 
as  Seymour's  hundred.  He  got  in  at  fifty.  He's 
made  good  at  one  hundred  and  forty.  If  you  had 
let  me  in,  I  would  have  had  twelve  thousand  five 
hundred  now.  It  will  take  me  a  long  time  to  earn 
that."  She  spoke  with  assumed  levity. 

Elijah  was  regarding  her  through  half-closed 
eyes.  He  spoke  very  deliberately. 

"You  are  right.  I  wanted  to  do  it,  but  Ralph 
wouldn't  consent.  He  meant  all  right,"  he  added 
hastily.  "I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do.  I'll  let  you 
have  five  thousand  dollars  of  my  stock  at  fifty. 
That  will  set  you  straight." 

"No  it  won't."  There  was  no  levity  in  Helen's 
voice. 

"Why?"    Elijah's  eyes  opened  in  surprise. 

69 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

" Because  that  would  be  a  present,  and  I  don't 
want  presents.  What  I  get,  I  want  to  get  myself.'* 

"It  wouldn't  be  a  present.  It  would  be  a  re 
ward.  You've  earned  it."  Elijah  spoke  ear 
nestly  and  warmly. 

"From  you,  not  from  the  company,"  she  replied 
decidedly  and  with  finality.  "Besides,  I've  discov 
ered  a  way  to  help  myself.  That's  better." 

"That  brings  us  back  to  the  first  point.  What 
were  you  mulling  over?" 

Helen  drew  the  map  toward  them  and  weighted 
down  the  corners. 

"Oranges  don't  mind  a  breath  of  cold  air  now 
and  then;  they're  dead  set  against  a  freeze  out." 
She  was  looking  quizzically  at  Elijah.  An  expres 
sion  of  assured  satisfaction  came  over  her  face  at 
Elijah's  astonishment. 

His  head  was  thrown  back  as  he  raised  his  eyes 
to  Helen's  face. 

'  *  What  do  you  mean  ? ' ' 

"As  if  I  needed  to  tell  you."  Her  lips  were 
scornful  at  the  limitations  Elijah  had  put  upon  her. 
A  smile  softened  the  scorn  and  left  a  doubt  as  to 
which  emotion  was  dominant.  "You  know  that 
oranges  on  a  hillside  with  southwestern  exposure 
will  do  better  than  in  an  unprotected  river  bottom." 

Elijah  looked  up  fiercely. 

"Has  Ralph  been  talking?" 

"No;  but  you  have." 

70 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"I  never  said  anything  of  the  kind  to  you.*' 

"I'm  not  a  phonograph." 

"You've  no  right  to  make  use  of  information 
that  you  get  from  a  confidential  position."  Elijah's 
voice  was  decided.  There  was  a  startled  look  on  his 
face  that  he  could  not  keep  from  being  anxious. 

' '  Xot  even  to  make  myself  more  useful?" 

Elijah  did  not  commit  himself  to  words.  His 
eyes  were  expectant.  Helen  continued,  pointing  to 
the  map. 

"This  land  is  practically  vacant.  It's  owned  by 
a  Mexican.  He  would  jump  at  a  dollar  an  acre.  It 
is  separated  from  this  of  yours  by  a  hill.  He  would 
never  dream  of  a  tunnel.  Some  one  else  may. 
There  are  thousands  of  acres  just  as  good  as  the 
land  you  control.  What's  the  matter  writh  forming 
a  land  company  independent  of  the  Las  Cruces? 
My  five  thousand  would  cover  five  thousand  acres. 
When  wrater  gets  to  it,  say  it's  worth  a  hundred; 
that  will  make  me  five  hundred  thousand  to  the 
good.  That's  better  than  a  present  of  Las  Cruces 
at  fifty,  and  it  will  come  from  myself." 

"I  never  told  you  about  the  tunnel.  How  did 
you  find  it  out?" 

Helen  could  not  restrain  a  satisfied  smile. 

"You  didn't  tell  me  about  a  belt  of  country 
around  here  where  the  temperature  never  falls  to 
thirty-two?" 

Elijah  glanced  hastily  around  the  room. 

71 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

" That's  all  right."  Helen  had  noted  the  look. 
"We're  all  alone." 

"What  do  you  want?"  Elijah's  look  was  not  yet 
wholly  one  of  relief. 

"To  get  a  little  closer." 

"There's  a  big  future  in  that  idea.  I  have  been 
thinking  of  forming  a  land  company.  We  can  get 
control  of  the  whole  section."  He  swept  his  hand 
over  the  map. 

"We  don't  want  the  earth,  Elijah.  It  would  be 
too  much  work  to  handle  it.  There  wouldn't  be  any 
time  for  fun.  We  only  want  a  goodly  portion.  We 
want  to  do  things,  don't  we?" 

Elijah's  eyes  opened.  An  expression  as  of  a 
revelation  swept  over  his  face.  The  simple  "we" 
thrilled  him  through  and  through.  Unconscious 
ness  was  dropping  its  mask  and  standing  out  in 
bold  relief. 

"We  do,  we  do!  and  we  will." 

Helen  was  quite  unconscious.  She  laughed  at 
Elijah's  enthusiasm. 

"What  kind  of  women  have  you  lived  with,  I 
would  like  to  know.  This  idea  would  not  have  sur 
prised  you  if  it  had  come  from  a  man." 

Helen  spoke  in  ignorance.  Unconsciously  she 
had  opened  Elijah's  eyes  still  wider.  In  a  blind 
ing  flash,  he  saw  Amy  and  Helen  Lonsdale  side  by 
side.  The  vision  brought  him  face  to  face  with  his 
past  life  with  Amy;  with  its  barren  stretch,  un- 

72 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

watered  by  sympathetic  appreciation,  only  parched 
and  withered  by  the  burning  rays  of  selfish  love. 
He  had  given ;  but  he  had  not  received.    What  he 
;:ccomplished,  he  had  accomplished  not  only  by 
himself,  but  in  spite  of  a  hostile  influence.     So 
long  as  his  work  had  been  limited  to  the  little  patch 
of  ground  irrigated  by  the  developed  springs  of 
his  horn.',  Amy  had  offered  no  objections  to  his 
enthusiasm.    So  far  as  it  was  possible  for  her,  she 
had  been  interested,  almost  encouraging.  Even  over 
his  visions  of  greater  things,  which  he  had  laid  be- 
before  her  unseeing  eyes,  she  had  smiled  with  ac- 
•  jiiiesccnce  which  he  mistook  for  appreciation.  Only 
when  the  films  bewail  to  grow  into  material  form, 
when  the  warp  and  woof  must  be  gathered  from 
others,  and  the  frame  of  the  loom  itself  must  be 
Imilded  witli  another's  aid,  did  the  real  meaning  of 
Elijah's  dream  sn-iirst    it<.  If  to  Amy.     Not  that 
i\v  dearly,  only  intuitively,  that  in  the  carry 
ing  out  of  his  plans  he  would  come  in  contact  with 
others,  that  this  contact  would  develop  a  compari 
son  of  herself   with   others,   that    this   coinp;: 
would  he  unfavorable  to  her,  and  would  end  for 
ever  her  ability  to  fill  Elijah's  mental  vision.  Th.-re- 
fore,  at  the  very  first  signs  of  expansion,  she  had 
opposed  the  feeble  barrier  of  her  will.    Elijah  had 
no  more  recognized  the  barrier  than  he  had  Amy's 
limitations  which  made  the  barrier  imperative   to 
her.    He  had  felt  her  opposition,  and,  without  un- 

73 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

derstanding  it,  he  had  chafed  against  it.  He  had 
not  compared  her  with  others,  because  up  to  this 
time  he  had  not  come  in  contact  with  those  who 
made  a  comparison  imperative. 

Now  the  comparison  was  coming  to  him,  had  in 
deed  already  come.  Appreciation,  sympathy,  en 
ergy,  assistance  were  manifest  to  him  in  every  word 
and  action  of  Helen  Lonsdale.  Her  first  sugges 
tion  of  independent  action  had  startled,  then 
brought  to  him  a  sudden,  overpowering  realization 
of  what  she  was,  of  what  she  might  be  to  him  in 
comparison  with  Amy.  His  first  emotion  was  fear 
lest  she  might  leave  him,  and,  equipped  with  the 
knowledge  which  she  had  gained  from  her  confi 
dential  relation  with  the  company,  start  out  on  an 
independent  course  of  her  own.  There  was  almost 
a  feeling  of  resentment  against  Amy,  as  if  she  had 
defrauded  him,  and  this  was  a  thing  which  Elijah 
should  have  put  aside;  but  he  did  not. 

Helen  was  watching  him.  There  was  decided 
humor  in  her  eyes,  in  the  motion  of  her  lips. 

"What  are  you  mulling  over?'* 

Elijah  started  as  if  waking  from  a  dream.  He 
spoke  hastily,  but  none  the  less  decidedly. 

"\Ve  must  drive  over  together  and  see  that  land 
as  soon  as  possible.' 


74 


CHAPTER  SEVEN 

In  spite  of  Elijah's  earnest  conviction  that  the 
land  should  be  inspected  and  a  course  of  action 
mapped  out  as  soon  as  possible,  it  was  several  \\vrks 
before  the  trip  could  be  arranged.  To  Elijah  it 
seemed  as  if  one  insistent  detail  after  another  was 
crowding  upon  him  in  a  most  extraordinary  man 
ner.  He  grew  fretful,  and  at  the  last  decidedly 
irritable 

"Don't  worry,  Elijah,"  Helen  said,  after  an 
unusually  impatient  outburst.  "The  world  wasn't 
made  in  a  day." 

"Opportunities  are,  and  are  short-lived  too." 

"Not  when  they  travel  via  Mexieanos.  You  can 
always  count  on  one  day  more  with  them.  Mariana 
has  some  redeeming  features  after  all." 

"Well,"  Elijah's  lips  straightened,  "mafiana  is 
tomorrow,  and  tomorrow  we  start." 

Il.-len  glanced  at  her  desk  with  its  litter  of  cor 
respondence. 

"I  guess  we  can  manage  it  in  some  way." 

"I  don't  guess,  I  know.  It's  tomorrow;  so  be 
ready  early.  Don't  come  to  the  office ;  I  will  call  for 
you 

75 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Elijah  was  as  good  as  his  word.  At  six  o'clock 
he  was  waiting  at  Helen 's  door,  and  they  were  early 
on  their  way. 

In  the  days  that  had  followed  their  conversation 
relative  to  unpurchased  lands,  Helen  had  given 
much  thought  to  the  possible  results  of  the  plan 
suggested  by  Elijah.  She  had  experienced  no  waver 
of  hesitation  over  their  present  confidential  rela 
tions.  These  presumed  nothing  more  than  their 
face  value  and  were  in  no  sense  different  from  her 
relations  with  other  employers.  Had  she  been 
possessed  of  a  fortune,  the  proposed  partnership 
would  have  had  a  plausible  excuse.  She  would  then 
merely  have  furnished  the  money  necessary  to 
carry  out  their  mutual  plans  and  a  partnership 
would  naturally  have  followed.  She  had  no  for 
tune.  Her  relations  with  Elijah  would  of  neces 
sity  become  more  confidential,  more  personal. 
Elijah  was  a  married  man,  and  intuitively  she  hesi 
tated.  But  then;  here  was  the  great  business  op 
portunity  of  her  life;  the  opportunity  for  which 
she  had  been  waiting  and  hoping  until  hope  had 
become  all  but  expectation,  and  now  hope  and  ex 
pectation  needed  only  her  consent  to  become  reality. 
She  had  been  really  glad  of  the  delays  which  put 
from  her  the  necessity  of  immediate  decision.  She 
would  decide  when  the  time  came.  She  thought  of 
going  to  Winston  again  for  advice;  but  Winston 
was  occupied.  This  was  her  excuse  to  herself.  In 

76 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

her  heart  she  knew  what  he  would  say  and  she  did 
not  wish  to  listen  to  his  words.  She  dwelt  long 
over  the  idea  of  buying  land  independently,  for  her 
self.  But  this  savored  of  using  for  her  own  benefit, 
information  gained  indirectly  from  her  present 
position.  Moreover,  being  a  woman,  she  shrank 
from  wholly  independent  action.  The  appeal  to  her 
ambition  was  a  powerful  one.  A  great  transforma 
tion  was  going  on  in  California.  It  was  so  radical, 
so  unthought  of,  that  those  connected  with  it  in  any 
of  its  phases  were  bound  to  become  prominent,  and 
prominence  was  one  great  thing  that  she  desired. 
Elijah  was  the  ori.Lrinator  of  orange  growing  on  a 
large  scale.  He  had  made  his  particular  field  a 
variety  of  seedless  orange  which  had  been  hitherto 
unknown;  he  had  conceived  of  fertile  lands  that 
w.  iv  now  worthless;  had,  by  sheer  will  power,  got 
under  way  an  irrigation  scheme  which  would  bring 
fame  and  fortune.  These  possibilities  were  known 
to  only  half  a  dozen  individuals  who  could  take 
advantage  of  thriii,  and  Helm  was  one.  It  was 
strange  that,  as  sin-  now  faced  the  question  finally, 
she  felt  none  of  that  senae  of  triumph  and  satisfac 
tion  which  she  had  imagined  such  an  outlook  would 
j^ive  her. 

As  she  took  her  scat  beside  Elijah  and  was 
whirled  through  the  sandy  streets  of  Ysleta,  out 
over  the  rolling  desert  toward  tho  foot-hills  of  the 
San  Bernardinos,  she  felt,  instead  of  elation,  a 

77 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

strange  depression  which  she  could  not  explain 
away.  Perhaps  it  was  the  chill  which  is  always  in 
the  California  air  before  the  rising  sun  has  asserted 
its  power,  or  lost  it  when  its  daily  course  is  run 
and  it  is  sinking  towards  the  western  horizon.  The 
scenes  they  passed  only  served  to  heighten  this 
feeling;  the  torpid  Mexicans,  crawling  from  their 
cheerless  adobe  huts,  squatted  on  what  should  be 
the  sunny  side,  their  sombreros  pulled  low,  their 
ponchos  wrapped  closely  around  face,  and  neck, 
and  shoulders,  one  grimy  hand  with  numbed  fingers, 
thrusting  the  inevitable  cigarro  between  blue  lips, 
as  they  watched  with  dull  eyes  the  team  flash  by. 
Stiffened  bunches  of  scrawny  cattle  rose  regret 
fully  from  the  sand  which  their  bodies  had  warmed 
through  the  night.  Shambling  the  least  possible 
distance  from  the  wagon  trail,  they  stood  with 
arched  backs  and  low-hung  heads,  looking  mild  re 
proach  at  the  disturbers  of  their  dismal  peace.  Even 
the  long,  blue  shadows  stretched  themselves  stiffly 
along  the  yellow  sands  or  lost  their  form  in  the 
soggy  mists  that  hung  damp  and  chill  over  the  river 
bottoms  and  deep-sunk  hollows,  where  seeping 
springs  oozed  out  into  the  shivery  air.  Toward  the 
west,  the  great  Pacific  was  hidden  by  a  waveless 
wall  of  milky  white  that  flowed  inland  by  imper 
ceptible  motions,  overwhelming  with  its  advancing 
flood,  town  and  plain,  but  leaving  here  and  there  a 

78 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

tawny  hill  rising  above  the  choking  mist,  like  barren 
islands  in  a  sea  of  arctic  white. 

Elijah  shivered. 

"It  doesn't  look  like  a  land  of  perpetual  sunshine, 
does  it?" 

"No,  and  it  doesn't  feel  like  one  either. "  Helen's 
teeth  fairly  chattered  as  she  drew  her  wraps  more 
closely  about  her. 

"When  we  get  ready  to  sell  fruit  ranches  from 
our  block  of  ground,  we  will  entertain  our  Eastern 
purchasers  with  lateness.  Late  suppers,  late  retir 
ing,  late  rising—" 

"And  late  sales."  Helen  shrugged  her  shoul 
ders.  "We'll  have  to  keep  prospective  purchasers 
under  cover  all  of  the  time.  If  we  take  them  out 
early,  we'll  freeze  them,  if  late,  we'll  roast  them, 
and  almost  any  time  they're  liable  to  be  blown 
away.  Just  look  at  that!"  She  nodded  toward  a 
grove  of  native  orange  trees.  The  outer  row  had 
had  every  leaf  twisted  from  it  by  the  constant 
winds. 

Elijah  glanced  at  his  companion. 

"I'll  ti-11  you  my  first  move.  I'm  going  to  get 
you  into  a  cheerful  mood  and  thru  put  you  under 
cover  and  ki-i-p  you  tln-iv.  What  is  the  matter, 
anyway?" 

Helm  made  no  reply.  Perhaps  sh«-  could  not.  in 
exact  truth.  Her  youthful  philosophy  had  hardly 
gone  far  enough  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  nature 

79 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

is  only  responsive  to  our  moods,  not  creative  of 
them. 

"Twenty  miles  is  a  long  drive  on  an  empty  stom 
ach.  "  Elijah  spoke  apologetically.  I  can  go  a 
week  without  eating,  or  sleeping  either,  if  neces 
sary.  It  came  pretty  near  being  necessary  one 
time."  He  shrugged  his  shoulders.  ''Poor  Amy! 
She  never  complained.  Do  you  think  you  would 
have  put  up  with  a  husband  who  gave  you  only  oat 
meal  week  in  and  week  out,  and  not  over  much  at 
that?" 

"I  might  have  put  up  with  the  husband,  that 
would  depend;  but  the  oatmeal,  never!  If  I  had 
thought  it  worth  while,  I  wouldn't  have  troubled 
him  about  that,  even.  I  would  have  found  some 
thing  else  for  him  and  for  myself  too!" 

Helen  spoke  with  decision.  Elijah's  words  were 
uppermost  in  her  mind,  a  realization  of  what  his 
work  had  cost  him.  Her  enthusiasm  kindled,  she 
forgot  for  the  moment  that  the  suggestion  of  the 
more  helpful  course  which  she  would  have  pursued, 
was  an  unqualified  condemnation  of  Amy.  It  was 
partly  owing  to  the  singleness  of  the  vision  of  youth, 
partly  to  the  fact  that  Elijah's  wife  was  hardly  a 
tangible  entity  to  her. 

Elijah  looked  down  at  Helen.  His  face  was 
sober.  A  moment  he  looked,  then  turned  his  eyes 
to  the  distant  hills. 

"I  believe  you  would." 

80 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH:  BERL 

His  look  and  manner  of  speaking  disturbed 
Helen,  though  she  could  not  tell  why.  All  the 
doubts  and  fears  of  the  past  weeks  again  assailed 
her.  She  began  to  feel  a  vague  distrust  of  her  am 
bition.  Was  it  after  all  so  very  different  from 
the  sordid  motives  she  had  despised  in  others  T  A 
vision  of  Ysleta  rose  before  her,  with  the  glaring 
rawness  and  gaudy  pretensions  which  she  had  re 
garded  with  such  humorous  contempt.  She  had 
been  keen  enough  to  forecast  the  ruin  in  store  for 
the  promoters ;  but  were  her  own  plans  so  superior 
to  these  as  she  had  once  imagined  ?  Did  not  they  too 
possess  some  elements  of  ruin?  Suppose  success 
should  crown  her  efforts,  would  success  bring  hap 
piness?  There  was  Elijah's  wife;  how  would  this 
success  affect  this  woman  whom  she  had  never  seen, 
(if  whose  existence  she  was  barely  conscious?  Her 
depression  deepened.  Why  not  tell  Elijah,  even 
without  a  plausible  reason,  that  she  had  decided 
against  it?  Her  lips  half  opened  to  speak,  but  a 
host  of  conflicting  impulses  held  her  dumb.  Suc- 
wealth,  these  were  the  golden  spurs  that  had 
ur-T'-d  her  on.  Without  this  shining  goal,  what 
would  lift'  be  but  a  dreary  round  of  duties? 

Tin-  sun  was  beating  with  licrcc  heat  on  her  un 
protected  face.  The  clammy  chill  of  the  lowlands 
was  gone.  The  towering  heights  of  the  San  Bernar- 
dinos  rose  clear  against  the  blur  of  the  sky. 
Elijah  drew  rein,  and  Helen  turned  to  look  behind. 

81 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

To  the  west  and  south  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
stretched  a  great,  softly  moving  sea  of  milky  white. 
Thus  far  and  no  farther,  soft  fingers  of  creamy 
vapor  reached  out  against  the  foothills,  crept  up 
into  the  gulches,  reached  upward  and  were  dis 
solved  by  the  sun  into  transparent  air.  Far  up  on 
one  of  the  foothills,  was  a  huge  square  of  dark  green 
set  in  a  frame  of  tawny  sand.  Helen  knew  the 
map ;  she  recognized  the  locality.  She  had  no  need 
of  Elijah's  words  as  he  pointed  with  his  whip. 

"There's  the  first  grove  of  navel  oranges  ever 
raised  on  this  continent.  I  had  just  three  trees  to 
start  with,  now  you  can  see  for  yourself.  There's 
Pico's  ranch.  That's  the  one  we  are  to  buy."  He 
again  pointed  with  his  whip,  tracing  the  boundaries 
in  the  air.  "There's  the  Sangre  de  Cristo;  here's 
where  it's  going  to  be."  He  indicated  with  his 
whip  the  crest  of  the  hills,  the  line  of  the  main 
canal ;  showed  where  it  would  pierce  a  higher  peak 
with  tunnels,  and  where,  the  main  canal  being 
tapped,  the  life-giving  waters  would  be  distributed 
to  every  field. 

"It  is  great."  Elijah  was  speaking  with  solemn 
voice.  "It  was  all  revealed  to  me.  The  work  is 
too  great  for  me  alone,  I  must  have  help.  I  shall 
have  to  give  up  to  others,  but  not  too  much.  They 
must  not  push  me  too  hard.  I  shall  be  guided.  But 
this  shall  be  my  work  alone."  He  swept  his  whip 
again  over  the  barren  hillsides.  "Yours  and  mine. 

82 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

I  shall  need  your  help.  I  have  never  had  human 
help  before,  nor  human  sympathy.  What  little 
help  I  have  had,  was  because  I  could  promise  money, 
money!  What  is  money  beside  this  great  work? 
Just  think!  I  shall  make  this,  all  this  a  living 
green.  '  The  desert  shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the 
rose.  It  shall  bloom  abundantly  and  rejoice  even 
with  joy  and  singing/  '  Elijah's  eyes  swept  over 
the  hills,  his  hands  outstretched  as  if  to  gather  to 
them  the  fruits  of  his  vision. 

"This  is  my  especial  work;  yours  and  mine.  I 
was  going  to  do  it  all  alone,  but  it  was  not  to  be. 
Why  else  did  I  trust  you  and  why  else  did  you 
see  what  I  believed  was  for  my  eyes  alone?" 
He  bent  his  eyes  full  upon  Helen.  She  looked 
shrinkingly  into  their  solemn  distance.  The  con 
viction  was  forcing  itself  upon  her  that  she  could 
of  herself  have  nothing  to  say.  There  was  more 
than  fame,  more  than  glory  and  wealth  in  the 
vision  he  was  forcing  her  to  see  as  he  saw;  some 
thing  great  to  be  done,  a  life  to  be  lived  too  great 
to  be  measured  by  the  petty  standards  of  humanity, 
and  thus  beyond  her  power  to  gauge;  something 
above  her,  beyond  her,  yet  enveloping  her  like  the 
air  she  breathed. 

He  laid  his  hand  on  hers,  not  questioning^,  but 
masterfully,  and  without  power  to  resist,  sh»«  felt 
his  clasp  tighten.  She  heard  his  voice ;  words  that 

83 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

hummed  and  throbbed,  lulling  her  to  a  numb  in 
sensibility  to  all  but  the  thoughts  she  felt,  rather 
than  heard.  She  saw  the  visions  he  saw,  heard  the 
voice  that  he  heard,  and  she  followed,  not  him,  but 
the  vision  and  the  voice.  She  shrank  without  mo 
tion;  but  she  knew  that  she  must  follow.  Sorrow 
was  nothing,  regret  was  nothing;  only  the  vision 
that  beckoned,  the  voice  that  called,  these  were 
everything.  She  would  have  given  worlds  to  have 
been  beyond  their  spell;  but  the  eyes  that  were 
looking  into  hers  she  could  not  turn  away  from,  the 
clasp  of  the  hand  that  held  her,  she  could  not  shake 
off.  Her  eyelids  drooped,  but  they  could  not  shut 
from  her  sight  the  great,  solemn  eyes  that  balanced 
and  swung,  grew  large  and  small,  but  ever  burned 
and  burrowed  into  her  soul. 

Elijah  gathered  up  the  reins  and  the  horses 
moved  on.  They  followed  the  winding  trail  down 
the  hill,  up  the  gulch,  then  a  quick  turn  and  the 
dark  green  square  cut  off  the  burning  rays  of  the 
sun. 

In  front  of  a  little  cottage  almost  hidden  by  blos 
soming  roses  the  team  came  to  a  halt.  Elijah 
sprang  from  the  wagon,  and  Helen  caught  a 
glimpse  of  a  delicately  beautiful  face  among  the 
roses.  The  next  instant  it  was  hidden  from  sight 
upon  Elijah's  shoulder.  Helen  could  not  believe 
the  voice  to  be  the  same  that  she  had  just  heard. 

84 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

' '  Hollo,  Amy !  I  Ve  brought  you  a  visitor.  Have 
you  got  anything  to  eat?  We're  awfully  hungry. 
Driven  from  Ysleta  since  six  o'clock." 


85 


CHAPTER  EIGHT 

In  response  to  the  brusque  introduction  that  fol 
lowed,  Amy  turned  her  eyes  to  Helen.  The  motion 
was  evidently  without  volition  on  her  part,  only 
obedience  to  an  unexpressed  command.  She  ad 
vanced  timidly,  with  outstretched  hand. 

"lam  glad  to  see  you ;  I  have  heard  my  husband 
speak  of  you  very  often.'1 

There  was  a  touch  of  the  pride  of  possession  in 
the  words,  "My  husband,"  but  it  sounded  plead 
ing  and  doubtful,  rather  than  confident.  With 
the  words,  the  eyes  again  sought  Elijah. 

Helen  was  outwardly  self  possessed,  inwardly, 
her  thoughts  were  confused. 

"He  speaks  to  me  quite  often;  I  didn't  know  that 
he  spoke  of  me." 

Elijah  was  sizzling  with  impatience. 

"This  doesn't  look  much  like  breakfast."  With 
out  even  a  glance  at  Amy,  he  turned  toward  the 
cottage.  His  words  seemed  to  crowd  each  other, 
as  he  called  back  through  the  door,  "You  two  stay 
and  talk  women  stuff.  I'll  rustle  breakfast." 

Helen  turned  to  Amy. 

"That's  considerate,  if  not  complimentary." 
8G 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Elijah  has  no  time  for  compliments;  he's  -too 
busy."  Amy  spoke  rather  stiffly.  She  longed  with 
all  her  heart  to  follow  Elijah ;  but  at  the  same  time, 
she  was  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  show  Helen  that 
she  had  talents  along  other  lines  than  "women 
stuff. " 

Helen  laughed. 

"  'Women  stuff'  isn't  so  bad  as  it's  painted." 

"Why?"  Amy  inquired  blankly. 

"•Oh,  it  fills  in.  One  can't  always  be  so  terribly 
in  earnest." 

"Elijah  is." 

Helen  restrained  herself  with  difficulty.  She 
felt  an  hysterical  and  unreasonable  desire  to  laugh. 

"That's  why  I'm  in  his  office,  probably.  I'm  a 
relief." 

Helen's  reply  was  reassuring  to  Amy.  It  was  a 
new  reason  for  the  relations  between  Elijah  and 
Helen.  She  accepted  it  without  question. 

"I'm  afraid  that  I  am  too  much  interested  in  his 
work.  It  isn't  good  for  him,  but  I  can't  help  it.  I 
think  you  are  right  about  his  being  too  much  in 
earnest."  Amy  spoke  laboriously;  she  evidently 
had  some  ulterior  purpose  in  view,  more  evident  to 
Helen  than  she  knew.  With  all  the  guile  that  she 
could  muster,  Amy  looked  at  Helen.  "What  is 
your  work?" 

Helen  did  not  feel  the  pathos  of  what  was  pass- 

87 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

ing  before  her  eyes,  she  only  saw  tHe  absurdity  of 
it. 

"Oh,  nothing  much.  I  just  keep  the  books. 
That's  easy.  Then  I  write  letters,  and  see  that 
they  are  mailed,  and  for  amusement,  I  have  argu 
ments  with  Ralph  Winston;  he's  the  engineer,  you 
know." 

"Yes,  I  know  Mr.  Winston.  I  don't  think  much 
of  him.  He's  rather  conceited,  don't  you  think 
so?" 

"Very." 

"I  am  sure  he  is.  My  husband  knows  more  about 
orange  trees,  and  land,  and  irrigation  than  any 
body,  and  yet  I  have  heard  Mr.  Winston  contradict 
him  time  and  time  again.  My  husband  is  very 
patient  with  him." 

Again  Helen  felt  an  almost  uncontrollable  im 
pulse  to  laughter. 

"Ralph  tries  everyone's  patience  when  he  doesn't 
agree  with  them." 

Amy  felt  that  she  was  wandering  from  her  pur 
pose.  She  had  a  vague  idea  of  returning  to  it  by 
a  graceful  transition,  but  one  did  not  suggest  itself 
to  her,  and  she  dared  temporize  no  further. 

'  *  Is  book-keeping  so  very  hard  ? ' '  she  asked. 

"Not  at  all;  it's  just  a  little  puzzling  once  in  a 
while." 

"Where  did  you  learn?" 

"At  a  business  college.    I  took  a  regular  course." 

88 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"I  can't— that  is— I—  "  Amy  stumbled,  her  face 
flushed  with  confusion.  She  had  almost  disclosed 
her  purpose  in  so  many  words.  "Really,"  she 
continued,  regaining  her  mental  foothold,  "I  know 
nothing  about  such  things.  Do  you  really  have  to 
go  to  college  to  learn  book-keeping?" 

"No,  indeed."  Helen  was  moved  to  pity.  "Get 
'A  and  B's  elements,'  any  book  store  has  them;  a 
little  paper  and  pencil,  a  small  journal,  a  cash  book 
and  ledger.  A  little  practice,  and  the  thing  is 
done." 

Helen's  face  was  smiling  and  imperturbable.  A 
glance  at  it  convinced  Amy  that  her  purpose  was 
undivined. 

"Thank  you.  I  have  always  been  curious  about 
such  things."  Then  she  grew  oblivious  of  Helen, 
more  completely  absorbed  than  she  had  ever  been 
before  in  her  life.  Her  face  flushed  a  delicate  pink 
with  the  glow  of  the  resolution  which  had  at  last 
taken  definite  shape  in  her  mind.  It  was  all  so 
simple.  Why  hadn't  she  thought  of  it  before? 
Ilrl.-n  was  watching  her  with  a  pitying  smile  on  her 
lips,  but  the  pity  was  for  Elijah,  not  for  Amy.  She 
recalled  involuntarily  her  first  meeting  with  Elijah, 
the  intangible  something  that  had  puzzled  her  about 
him.  Then  the  incidents  of  the  morning  came  to 
her  with  a  rush  that  overpow  n-d  her.  She  saw 
rv.-rythinpr  now,  and  the  smile  died  from  her  lips. 
"What  might  he  not  have  accomplished,  had  he  mar- 

89 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

ried  a  different  sort  of  a  woman? — if," — her  face 
was  scarlet  now. 

''Breakfast!"  Elijah  stood  in  the  door,  flourish 
ing  a  dauby  spoon.  ' '  Oatmeal ! "  he  called,  looking 
at  Helen.  "Come!" 

He  darted  forward,  flung  one  arm  with  the  spoon 
attached  around  Amy's  waist  and  swept  her  to 
wards  the  open  door. 

Helen  followed,  laughing.  The  laugh  was  not 
the  hearty,  spontaneous  expression  of  innocent 
mirth,  of — was  it  only  hours,  or  was  it  ages  ago? 
Helen  could  not  answer.  She  was  not  clearly  con 
scious  of  the  question.  She  was  not  certain  whether 
the  present  was  a  reality,  or  whether  it  was  a  vague, 
disagreeable  dream,  threatening  hideous  things  that 
were  nameless  and  terrifying,  as  the  demon-peopled 
shadows  surrounding  a  shrinking  child.  Her  eager 
anticipations,  the  sudden,  indefinite  repugnance  to 
the  ride  with  Elijah,  the  chill  morning,  the  huddled 
numbness  of  the  blanketed  Mexicans,  the  hunched- 
up  cattle  by  the  roadside,  the  clammy,  milky  fog, 
the  fierce  blast  of  the  smiting  sun,  the  land  of  prom 
ise  in  the  blazing  light,  Elijah's  "My  work,  mine 
and  yours,"  the  consuming  enthusiasm  of  Elijah, 
the  empty,  inane  beauty  of  Amy,  these  two  people, 
twain  and  one  flesh,  and  she,  apart  or  a  part ;  which 
should  it  be?  Weaving  out  and  in,  confusing,  tan* 
talizing,  and  she,  drifting  and  floating  like  an  errant 

90 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

leaf  on  these  currents  of  destiny,  going  hither  and 
thither,  to  find  a  resting  place,  where? 

The  sound  of  her  own  laughter  mocked  her.  She 
was  conscious  that  her  smile  was  labored,  that  her 
spontaneous  effort  would  be  tears.  This  she  was 
resisting.  Everything  seemed  strange  to  her. 
Why?  She  could  not  answer. 

The  breakfast  table  was  set  on  a  verandah, 
shaded  with  climbing  roses  and  honeysuckle  in  full 
bloom.  Flecks  of  sunshine  pierced  the  clustered 
leaves,  but  the  fierceness  of  the  sun  was  tempered  to 
a  soft  glow  by  the  matted  vines.  The  fragrance  of 
flowers  perfumed  the  air,  and  light  and  perfume 
gave  a  heightened  pleasure  from  consciousness  of 
the  conditions  without.  A  dish  of  steaming  oatmeal 
\\as  before  Elijah,  a  pitcher  of  thick  cream  and  a 
bowl  of  powdered  sugar.  In  the  centre  of  the  table 
was  a  plate  of  oranges,  golden  and  fair. 

Elijah  motioned  Helen  to  a  seat  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  table,  and  swung  Amy  into  a  chair  by  his 
side.  His  face  was  flushed,  his  motions  quick  and 
H'Tvous.  llrlfii  dumbly  wondered  if  he  too  ITON 
conscious  of  a  struggle  within  himself,  if  his  ac 
tions  were  forced,  or  if  they  were  natural,  and 
she  were  reading  her  own  unrest  into  them. 

Elijah   selected   from  the  dish  the  largest  and 
fairest  orange,  if  choice  were  possible.     He  p 
it  in  the  air  for  the  fraction  of  a  second.    "Catch," 
he  said,  and  tossed  it  into  Helen's  hands.    Another 

91 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

orange  was  dropped  into  Amy's  lap.  Selecting  one 
for  himself,  he  began  to  tear  the  acrid  rind  from 
the  fruit  and  holding  the  stripped  orange,  looked 
at  Helen  with  eyes  momentarily  half-closed. 

" Let's  eat  and  drink  to  our  success."  His  eyes 
opened  wide  as  he  turned  to  Amy.  " Here's  food 
and  drink,  typical  of  all  objects  worth  the  struggle. 

1  The  bud  may  have  a  bitter  taste, 
But  sweet  will  be  the  flower.'  ! 

Elijah  rose  as  he  spoke,  holding  in  one  hand  the 
stripped  orange,  in  the  other  the  rind. 

"This  fruit  is  typical  of  life.  It  is  fair  to  look 
upon.  Its  acrid  rind  burns  the  lips;  the  thought 
less  cast  it  aside.  Only  those  who  can  see  beneath 
the  bitter  rind,  the  sweet,  refreshing  fruit,  are 
worthy  to  taste  of  it.  We  have  tasted  the  bitterness, 
little  girl,  let  us  refresh  ourselves  with  the  sweet 


ness." 


He  raised  the  orange  to  his  lips.  Helen  and  Amy 
did  the  same.  Helen  was  still  conscious  of  the 
tense  muscles  shaping  her  lips  in  a  smile. 

"Oatmeal?"  Elijah  was  filling  a  dish  and  look 
ing  at  Helen.  Her  face  flushed  slightly. 

"If  you  please." 

Elijah  laughed,  and  Amy  gazed  in  mild  wonder. 

"It's  our  joke,"  he  explained.  "Miss  Lonsdale 
said  that  she  would  have  fed  me  with  something  bet 
ter  than  oatmeal  if  she  had  been  my  wife." 

92 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

To  this,  Amy  made  no  reply.  She  was  absorbed 
in  her  thoughts.  Her  fear  of  Helen  was  diminish 
ing.  In  a  way,  she  was  enjoying  her  own  clever 
ness.  It  was  clever  in  her  to  have  drawn  from 
Helen  the  secret  of  her  hold  upon  Elijah,  without 
arousing  any  suspicions.  "It's  not  so  very  hard, 
just  a  little  puzzling  once  in  a  while."  These 
\vonls  stood  out  so  sharply  and  clearly.  Amy's 
face  clouded.  She  must  not  forget,  and  her  mem 
ory  was  not  good.  "A  little  practice  and  the  thing 
is  done."  This  was  clear.  "A  paper  and  pencil, 
a_"  "\Yhat  was  it?  Some  kind  of  books."  Her 
face  grew  more  perplexed  and  clouded.  "Oh! 
What  if  she  should  forget?  It  would  never  do  to 
ask  Helen  again,  Helen  would  suspect.  She  must 
remember."  Her  eyes  grew  dim  with  tears  that 
were  «!' -manding  to  be  shed.  "Any  book-seller  has 
them."  Her  face  cleared.  She  felt  like  shouting 
her  triumph.  She  could  go  to  any  book-seller  and 
he  would  tell  her  what  she  wanted  to  know. 

"That 'sail."    Elijah  sprang  from  the  table.    He 
lifted  Amy  from  her  feet,  caught  her  in  his  arms, 
(1  her    and  darted  through  the  house  and  out 
into  the  drive- way. 

"Hook  up  the  horses,  Jos.-:    Move  lively!  We've 
got  a  long  drive." 

Helen  and  Amy  were  standing  under  a  rose-cov 
ered  trellis.     Helen  was  sober,  Amy  was  peaceful. 

"Sorry  to  leave  you  so  soon,  little  «:irl.     \\Vre 

93 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

going  out  on  business."  The  team  pulled  up  beside 
them.  "We'll  be  home  tonight."  The  words 
floated  back  through  the  crush  of  wheels  on  the 
gravel. 

Amy  watched  them  drive  away.  This  time  she 
held  no  Fate-dealing  daisy  in  her  hands;  a  full 
blown  rose  was  there  instead.  The  flush  of  it  was 
on  her  cheeks,  its  perfume  in  her  nostrils  as  she 
cleared  the  table,  and  washing  the  dishes,  put  them 
away.  She  sang  softly  to  herself,  with  her  sewing 
in  her  lap,  as  she  rocked  gently  to  and  fro  through 
the  long,  hot  day.  In  the  shade  of  the  rose  and  the 
honeysuckle,  the  tempered  sunbeams  fell  on  her 
hair,  on  her  work,  the  sweet  perfume  of  the  air 
mingling  with  the  perfume  of  her  dreams. 

It  was  almost  six  o'clock  when  Elijah  and  Helen 
returned.  Following  them  closely  was  a  dusty 
horseman.  Without  dismounting  the  horseman 
handed  a  note  to  Elijah.  Elijah  tore  open  the  en 
velope,  his  face  clouding  as  he  read.  He  turned  to 
Helen. 

"You're  right,  as  usual.  The  Pacific  will  close 
its  doors  tomorrow.  We've  got  to  get  back  to 
Ysleta  tonight.  The  cashier  tells  me  that  we  can 
get  our  money  out  if  we're  on  hand  early  when  the 
bank  opens  in  the  morning."  Elijah  turned  to  the 
stable  man.  "Take  out  these  horses  and  put  in 
Chica  and  Lota.  Hurry!"  He  slipped  his  arm 
through  Amy's.  "Too  bad,  little  girl.  Thought 

94 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

we'd  have  an  evening  together.  Let's  go  in  and 
have  a  bite.  Jose  will  be  ready  in  fifteen  minutes. 
iSixty  miles  is  a  long  drive  for  one  day;  are  you 
good  for  it?"  He  looked  sharply  at  Helen. 

"Of  course  I  am."  The  answer  was  brusque. 
The  day,  for  very  good  reasons,  had  not  eased 
Helen's  mind. 

Amy  stood  bright-eyed  and  smiling,  as  Elijah 
kissed  her  goodbye.  A  fleeting  wonder  swept  over 
Elijah's  mind;  but  he  had  no  time  for  riddles. 
Amy  was  still  smiling  as  Elijah  and  Helen  drove 
away.  The  setting  sun  rested  a  halo  on  her  hair, 
shone  softly  in  her  triumphant  eyes.  A  long  time 
she  stood  looking  towards  the  great  ocean,  then  she 
turned  to  the  cottage.  "A  pencil  and  paper,  and  a 
little  practice  and  the  thing  is  done." 


95 


CHAPTER  NINE 

The  Rio  Vista  was  the  famous  hostelry  of  Ysleta. 
With  full  appreciation  of  the  truth  of  the  old 
adage  that  the  path  to  a  man's  heart  leads  through 
his  stomach,  the  promoters  of  the  Ysleta  boom  had 
built  a  gorgeous  edifice  and  equipped  it  with  a 
cuisine  not  equalled  west  of  the  Mississippi.  It  is 
true  that  their  artistic  palates  were  not  so  finely 
educated  as  were  their  gastronomic,  but  the  glitter 
of  plate  glass  windows  and  the  constant  warfare  of 
hostile  colors,  affected  not  at  all  the  delicate  viands 
which  were  placed  before  the  guests.  Since  her 
connection  with  the  Las  Cruces,  Helen  Lonsdale 
had  made  this  palace  her  home 

As  she  ascended  the  steps  of  the  Rio  Vista,  after 
her  return  from  the  Berl  ranch,  Helen's  attention 
was  attracted  to  an  old  man  who  was  seated  near 
the  head  of  the  broad  stone  steps  that  led  to  the 
broader  verandah.  He  seemed  utterly  out  of  har 
mony  with  his  surroundings.  His  clothes  were  not 
shabby,  but  they  were  evidently  worn  more  with  an 
eye  to  the  useful  than  to  the  ornamental.  The 
heavy  boots  were  wrinkled  and  worn,  yet  solid, 
and  the  blacking  suggested  a  reluctant  concession 

96 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BKKL 

to  custom  rather  than  to  a  sense  of  propriety.  His 
trousers  were  baggy  and  his  coat  hung  in  loose  folds 
from  a  pair  of  broad,  square  shoulders.  A  white 
shirt  was  topped  by  a  high  old-fashioned  collar, 
held  by  a  flowing  ti<>  of  navy  blue.  These  incon 
gruities,  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  finished  specimens 
of  weli-groomed  humanity  who  circled  around  him, 
first  attracted  Helen.  It  was  the  face  that  com 
pelled  from  her  more  than  a  passing  notice. 

As  she  looked  at  the  face,  more  especially  the 
eyes,  a  sense  of  relief  from  oppression,  an  almost 
irresistible  impulse  to  laughter  came  over  her.  It 
was  not  ridicule,  but  a  light-hearted  response  to  the 
contagious  humor  radiating  from  every  line  and 
wrinkle.  Yet  the  weathered  face,  with  its  closely- 
cropped  fringe  of  gray  beard,  resting  like  a  sphere 
on  the  sharp  lips  of  the  high  collar,  carried  the 
conviction  that  the  mobile  lines  could  set  hard  as 
frozen  metal,  that  the  humorous  eyes,  deep  beneath 
overhanging  brows,  could  pierce  like  sharpened 
steel.  Perhaps  it  was  her  imagination,  but  the  eyes 
seemed  to  answer  her  own  and  the  face  to  turn  as 
as  she  passed,  in  order  to  prolong  the  interchange 
"I  wordless  n 

Lat«T  in  th.-  <lay  Helen  was  seated  apart  from  the 
f-n.wd  in  the  rotunda.  She  wanted  to  get  away 
from  herself  but  there  was  no  desire  to  seek  com 
panionship.  Consequently  she  was  annoy.-d  at  the 
sound  of  footsteps  which  evidently  had  her  for  an 

97 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

object.  She  was  more  annoyed  when  a  chair  was 
dragged  from  its  position  and  thrust  beside  her 
own.  She  did  not  even  turn  her  head  when  she 
heard  a  slump  in  the  chair  which  testified  that  the 
intruder  intended  to  maintain  his  position.  With 
no  preliminary  cough,  a  rugged  voice  remarked : 

"Pretty  considerable  goin'  on  in  these  parts,  if 
'tis  three  thousand  miles  from  nowhere,  an'  a  hard 
road  at  that." 

Helen's  annoyance  vanished.  She  turned  bright 
ly  to  the  old  man. 

"Please  excuse  me.  I  didn't  know  who  it  was  till 
you  spoke." 

"If  you  know  now,  you've  got  the  advantage  'o 
me,  in  one  sense.  I'm  Uncle  Sid  Harwood,  retired 
sea  captain,  at  present  cruisin'  for  pleasure." 

Helen  bowed  with  sedate  humor. 

"I'm  Helen  Lonsdale  and  nothing  in  particu 
lar." 

Uncle  Sid  Harwood  surveyed  his  companion 
leisurely. 

"First  time  I  ever  found  nothin'  in  particular 
worth  while.  You  come  from  around  here?" 

"Yes,  I'm  Calif ornian,  born  and  bred." 

"Glad  to  know  it.  I've  been  lyin'  at  anchor  here 
some  days  lookin'  for  a  pilot.  I  reckoned  you 
knew  the  harbor.  Met  a  young  fellow  by  the  name 
o'  Berl?" 

"Elijah  Berl?"  Helen  asked  in  surprise. 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"That's  him." 

"Why  yes.  of  course  I  have.  He's  president  of 
the  Las  Cruces  Irrigation  Company." 

"Praisin'  the  Lord  an'  callyhootin'  around  like 
a  sky  rocket  with  its  tail  a-fire?"  pursued  Uncle 
Sid. 

Helen  laughed  at  the  apt  though  rather  super 
ficial  analogy. 

"Yes,  but  he's  not  all  fire  and  fizz  after  all.  He 
is  doing  things  worth  while." 

"Don't  doubt  it."  Uncle  Sid  spoke  with  convic 
tion.  "He  always  carried  high  steam,  an'  I  guessed 
he'd  do  something,  if  he  got  hitched  to  an  engine 
that  would  stand  the  pressure." 

"Wouldn't  you  like  to  see  him?  He's  in  the 
hotel  now,  I  think.  I'll  send  for  him." 

Uncle  Sid  made  no  objections  and  Helen  beck 
oned  a  waiter. 

"Please  see  if  Mr.  Berl  is  in  his  room  and  tell 
him  he's  wanted." 

"Eunice  an'  I  thought  maybe  we'd  see  'Lige. 
That's  one  reason  why  we  came  here  instead  o* 
somewhere 's  else.  Eunice's  my  sister,"  Uncle  Sid 
added. 

Before  Helen  had  time  to  reply,  she  heard  th«' 
quick  beat  of  Elijah's  feet  on  the  floor. 

"That's  him,"  Uncle  Sid  remarked,  as  he  rose  to 
his  feet. 

The  footsteps  halted  and  Helen  saw  Elijah  stand- 

99 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

ing  in  mute  surprise  before  the  old  man.  The  next 
instant  he  had  Uncle  Sid's  outstretched  hand  in 
both  his  own  with  crushing  grasp. 

"Well!  well!  Uncle  Sid!  You're  looking  as 
natural  as  life." 

Uncle  Sid  winced. 

"I'm  feelin'  as  natural's  life  too,  just  this  very 
minute.  Cast  off,  'Lige !  I  brought  my  rheurnatiz 
with  me." 

Elijah  turned  to  Helen. 

"How  under  the  sun  did  you  come  to  know  Un 
cle  Sid?" 

"She  don't  know  me.  We're  just  gettin'  ac 
quainted.  ' ' 

"Uncle  Sid  is  worth  knowing,  Helen,  I  can  vouch 
for  that."  Elijah  surveyed  Uncle  Sid  with  a  beam 
ing  face.  "Where's  your  sister,  Mrs.  MacGregor; 
why  didn't  you  bring  her  with  you?" 

"I  did.  She'll  be  down  in  a  minute.  Sit  down. 
How  do  you  make  it  out  here,  'Lige  ?  You  used  to 
be  great  on  temperance  back  East,  but  I  haven't 
seen  any  water  worth  drinkin'  out  here." 

"There's  plenty  of  water,  all  right,  and  good 
water  too.  We  '11  show  him,  won 't  we,  Helen  ? ' 

"  I  '11  believe  that  when  I  see  it.  Lucky  thing  the 
Lord  didn't  start  in  makin'  man  in  this  section," 
growled  Uncle  Sid,  "he  wouldn't  have  had  water 
enough  to  have  pasted  him  together  with.  He'd  a 
had  dust  enough,  goodness  knows.  I  want  a  hand- 

100 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH   HKRL 

bcllus,  to  blow  off  some  o'  this  dust.  Just  as  sure 
as  I  touch  water  I  shan't  be  nothin'  but  a  mud 
puddle. " 

"You  can  afford  to  even  up,  Uncle  Sid.  You've 
had  more  than  your  share  of  water  all  your  life. 
A  little  soil  won't  hurt  you  now." 

"Huh!"  Uncle  Sid  grunted.  "I  was  on  top  of 
the  water  then,  an'  I  kept  there.  This  dirt  gets 
on  top  o'  me  an'  inside  me  an'  everywhere  it  ain't 
no  business  to  be.  Here's  Eunice  now.  Look  here, 
Eunice,  here's  an  old  friend  o'  yours,  and  here's 
Miss  Lonsdale,  a  new  friend  o'  mine,  and  I  won't 
swap  either." 

A  tall  woman,  deliberate  in  all  her  motions,  ad 
vanced  upon  the  little  party.  Her  eyes  rested  for 
a  moment  upon  Elijah  as  he  rose  with  extended 
hand,  then,  acknowledging  the  introduction  to 
Helen,  they  slipped  from  Elijah  and  glanced  slowly 
over  Helen  from  her  boots  to  the  coils  of  dark  hair 
that  crowned  her  head.  Helen  experienced  a  creep 
ing  sensation.  The  touch  of  the  deliberate  eyes  re 
minded  her  of  the  inquisitive  fingers  of  a  jockey 
feeling  for  blemishes  on  the  smooth  limbs  of  a 
horse. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  seated  herself  with  studied  ele 
gance. 

"It  occurs  to  me,  Sidney,  that  Miss  Lonsdale 
may  object  to  your  rather  broad  claims  to  her 
friendship  upon  so  short  an  acquaintance." 

101 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"I  guess  she's  able  to  let  me  know  her  own  mind. 
We  took  to  each  other  like  ducks  to  a  patch  o'  wild 
rice.  I'm  too  old  to  be  dangerous  an'  young  enough 
to  know  what's  good  for  me." 

Mrs.  MacGregor  ignored  her  brother's  remark. 
She  turned  to  Elijah. 

'  *  How  does  the  change  from  sedate  New  England 
to  this  new  life  affect  you,  Elijah?" 

"Not  at  all,  personally,  Mrs.  MacGregor.  I'm 
just  the  same  'Lige  you  used  to  know." 

Uncle  Sid  broke  in. 

4 'Perhaps  not  your  innards,  but  your  outards 
ain't  the  same.  You  ain't  goin'  around  here  bare 
foot,  with  two  kinds  o'  cloth 'in  your  pants." 

Mrs.  MacGregor 's  eyes  were  wandering  from 
Helen  to  Elijah.  She  was  comparing  the  evidences 
of  sight  gathered  from  personal  inspection,  with 
those  of  hearsay,  the  result  of  her  indirect  inquiries 
among  the  hotel  guests,  as  to  Elijah's  standing  in 
Ysleta.  At  length  she  arose,  holding  out  her  hand 
to  Elijah. 

*  *  I  shall  hope  to  renew  our  old  acquaintance.  It 
is  a  great  pleasure  to  find  one's  estimates  of  an  old 
friend  more  than  exceeded." 

Elijah  took  Mrs.  MacGregor 's  hand.  In  spite  of 
his  bewilderment  over  their  implied  intimacy  in 
the  past,  he  felt  a  glow  of  pride  that  she  felt  it 
worth  her  while  to  expand  the  mustard  seed  of  their 

102 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

former  acquaintance  into  a  luxuriant  growth.    He 
gave  the  limp  hand  a  warm  pressure. 

"Let  me  do  anything  I  can  for  your  pleasure, 
Mr*.  MaH  JIVLTOI-.  I  am  always  at  your  service/* 

Mrs.  MacGregor  bowed  formally  to  Helen. 

"We  shall  meet  again,  I  hope.  You  are  stopping 
here?'* 

"Yes."  Helen  could  hardly  bring  herself  to  this 
curt  response.  She  felt  more  like  slapping. 

It  did  not  escape  Mrs.  MacGregor,  who  was  fol 
lowing  Uncle  Sid  from  the  room,  that  Helen  had 
begun  to  move  as  well,  and  that  she  was  checked 
by  an  almost  imperceptible  gesture  from  Elijah. 

"What  about  tomorrow,  Helen?"  he  asked. 

"You  mean  the  Pacific  bank?" 

"Yes.  It's  not  our  secret  now.  Every  one  knows 
that  the  run  will  begin  when  the  bank  opens." 

"There's  only  one  thing  to  be  done.  You  must 
be  the  first  in  line." 

Elijah  took  a  few  quick  turns  then  came  to  a 
sudden  halt  before  Helen. 

'  *  That 's  impossible.  The  line 's  a  mile  lon^  now. ' ' 
II--  laii'jh.d  uneasily  over  the  exaggeration. 

"Then  we  are  out  of  it,  after  all." 

Elijah  hesitated. 

"Not  necessarily." 

II.  1,  n  Irnp.Ml  to  the  point  of  Elijah's  meaning. 
;  can't  do  that.     You  mustn't!" 

* '  Why  not  ?     It 's  our  money. ' ' 

103 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

''You  know  why  not."    Helen  spoke  sharply. 

"Mellin  has  fixed  it  all  up."    Elijah  insisted. 

"You  know  what  that  means,  as  well  as  I  do." 
Helen's  voice  was  sharper  and  more  decided. 

Elijah  was  again  striding  up  and  down.  He 
looked  at  his  watch,  then  snapped  it  shut  and  thrust 
it  into  his  pocket. 

"Well,  goodnight,  Helen,  I'll  think  it  over." 

"Don't  do  it.  It's  dangerous  to  think  about  some 
things." 

Helen  was  alone,  walking  thoughtfully  to  her 
room.  Her  old  mood  had  returned  with  even  darker 
shadows.  Why  couldn't  she  act  on  her  own  keen 
suggestion  and  stop  thinking  about  dangerous 
things?  This  question  occurred  to  her.  Another 
point  suggested  itself.  Mellin  was  reading  clearly 
in  Elijah  that  about  which  she  had  only  vague  pre 
sentiments. 


104 


CHAPTER  TEN 

The  first  brick  in  Ysleta's  speculative  row  had 
toppled  against  its  fellow  and  the  whole  line  was 
threatened  with  collapse.  Some  worthless  specu 
lator  had  begun  it  by  trying  to  "cash  in."  The 
news  had  spread  like  wild-fire  that  the  Pacific  was 
to  be  the  first  point  of  attack.  There  was  no  time 
for  aid  to  reach  it  from  the  San  Francisco  banks, 
even  had  they  been  disposed  to  tender  assistance. 
As  for  the  local  banks,  they  were  too  busy  furling 
their  own  sails  for  the  coming  storm,  to  think  of 
going  to  the  rescue  of  the  storm's  first  victim. 

Early  as  was  the  hour,  the  sharp-lined  figures  of 
the  depositors  jammed  against  the  closed  doors  of 
the  bank  and  faded  to  dim  shadows  at  the  far  end 
of  the  line.  Men,  who  a  few  hours  before  had  bowed 
with  deference  to  their  fellow  men,  were  now  like 
savage  tigers,  holding  their  places  with  tooth  and 
claw  bared  for  immediate  and  merciless  action. 
Woe  to  the  luckless  one  who  in  the  jam,  was 
crowded  from  his  position.  There  was  no  hope  for 
him  but  in  the  far  distance  where  men  were 
shadows.  No  word  was  spoken.  There  was  no 

105 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

need  of  words  where  moonlight  gleamed  coldly  on 
shining  steel.  A  hand  to  hand  fight  meant  the  end 
of  the  line  for  the  defender  as  well  as  the  one  who 
attacked. 

Only  one  thing  could  have  broken  the  solid 
ranks.  Could  any  one  in  that  fierce  array  of  self- 
seekers  have  seen  a  man  slink  from  a  half -opened 
window  in  the  rear  of  the  bank,  creep  from  shadow 
to  shadow  in  the  direction  of  the  Rio  Vista,  and 
finally  disappear  within  a  secluded  arbor,  a  timid 
fox  in  a  pack  of  ravening  hounds  would  have  had  a 
better  chance  of  life  than  he. 

Pale  as  the  moonlight  that  lay  soft  and  white 
about  him,  Elijah  stood,  awaiting  Mellin. 

"I  have  decided  that  I  cannot  take  the  money." 
"What  the  devil  are  you  here  for  then?" 
"To  tell  that  I  will  take  chances  with  the  rest." 
"The  devil  you  will."     Mellin 's  voice  showed 
the  contemptuous  scorn  he  felt;  but  Elijah's  course 
was  not  new  to  him.     His  experience  in  life  had 
taught  him  that  in  business  the  saint  and  the  sin 
ner  stand  on  the  same  plane.     He  had  noted  that 
the  sinner  did  without  a  qualm  that  which  the  saint 
did  with  moaning  and  tears.     The  result  was  the 
same  in  either  case. 

"I  suppose  you  know  that  we  are  carrying  five 
hundred  thousand  in  deposits.    We  have  one  hun 
dred  thousand  with  which  to  meet  the  run." 
"But  the  receivership  that  will  follow?" 

106 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Mollin  lau^hod. 

"You  are  not  so  innocent  as  all  that.  You  know 
our  line  of  business.  Real  estate  loans!"  Mellin 
indulged  in  a  sarcastic  smile.  "Two  millions  hard 
cash  and  five  millions  of  Ysleta  lots  that  aren't 
worth  record." 

"We  took  our  chances  with  the  other  depositors 
and  we  will  stay  with  them."  Elijah's  words  were 
firm,  but  his  voice  gave  them  the  lie. 

Mellin  was  very  patient.  It  never  occurred  to 
Elijah  to  ask  why.  Mellin  was  worldly  wise;  Eli 
jah  was  not.  Therefore  Elijah  never  asked  the 
question,  "What  does  the  other  man  want  me  to 
do  for  him  when  he  is  so  anxious  to  do  something 
for  me?" 

Mellin  was  worldly  wise.  He  had  read  Elijah 
aright.  Elijah  was  open  to  conviction  as  to  what 
was  right  and  what  was  wrong.  His  well-known 
professions  only  strengthened  Mellin  in  his  belief 
that  Elijah  relied  upon  others  for  guidance  more 
than  upon  himself.  So  he  made  answer: 

' '  You  are  not  on  the  same  footing  as  the  other  de 
positors.  I  am  cashier.  Yesterday  morning  I  got 
a  tip  that  there  would  be  a  run  on  the  bank  and  I 
passed  it  on  to  you.  It's  no  one's  business  that 
you  had  a  friend  on  the  inside.  You  were  out  of 
town  and  I  sent  a  messenger  after  you.  After 
sending  him,  things  thickened.  I  saw  that  you 
wouldn't  get  back  in  time,  so  I  drew  for  you. 

107 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Here's  the  stuff."  Mrllin  held  out  a  compact  bun 
dle  carefully  wrapped  and  tied.  Elijah's  hand 
closed  upon  it.  He  moistened  his  dry  lips  as  the 
package  rested  in  his  hand  and  was  transferred  to 
his  pocket.  Without  a  word  he  turned  toward  the 
hotel.  The  parting  of  the  ways  was  behind  him 
and  he  was  on  the  wrong  path.  The  return  was 
not  irrevocably  barred;  but,— would  he  return? 


108 


CHAPTER  ELEVEN 

The  shadows  that  had  gathered  around  Elijah 
during  the  night  were  not  dispelled  with  the  dawn 
of  the  following  day.  On  his  way  to  the  office,  he 
was  anticipating  Helen's  criticism  of  his  act  in  tak 
ing  the  money  from  the  bank  in  the  face  of  her 
strong  opposition.  He  found  on  arrival,  that  the 
devil  had  a  way  of  his  own  in  making  smooth  the 
path  of  his  disciples,  for  a  time  at  least. 

Helen  greeted  him  as  usual. 

"My  last  night's  advice  was  unnecessary,  wasn't 
HI" 

"How  so?" 

"I  went  around  by  the  bank  this  morning.  It  was 
lit,  I  can  tell  you.  I  didn't  see  you  in  the 
line."  There  was  an  indirect  question  in  Helen's 
eyes. 

"I  wasn't  in  line."  Elijah  could  not  restrain  a 
sigh  of  relief  as  he  spoke  the  half-truth. 

"They  say  the  line  was  begun  before  ten  o'clock 
night" 

"I  know  it  was,  and  it  was  kept  too."  Elijah 
turned  to  his  desk  and  became  absorbed  in  his  work. 

Whether  or  not  Helen  grasped  the  fact  that  her 

109 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

indirect  question  of  Elijah  remained  unanswered, 
she  pursued  it  no  farther. 

Toward  noon,  Elijah  went  to  the  safe  which  stood 
in  the  back  of  the  office.  He  opened  the  door,  took 
from  his  pocket  a  bunch  of  keys  and  unlocked  his 
private  box.  Helen's  back  wras  towards  him. 
Without  taking  his  eyes  from  her,  he  drew  from  his 
pocket  a  small  package  and  slipped  it  beneath  a  pile 
of  papers.  Then  he  closed  and  locked  the  door  and 
returned  the  keys  to  his  pocket.  He  reseated  him 
self,  swinging  his  chair  from  his  desk. 

"Are  you  busy,  Helen?" 

"Not  very." 

"What  do  you  think  this  business  means?" 

"What,  the  run  on  the  Pacific?" 

"Yes." 

"It's  the  beginning  of  the  end,  and  I'm  glad  it's 
come.  Helen  spoke  with  decision. 

"The  end  of  everything?" 

"  No ;  only  a  weeding  out.  It  was  bound  to  come, 
only  I  didn  't  think  it  would  be  so  soon. ' ' 

"I  don't  feel  so  sure  that  anything  will  be  left." 

"Things  that  are  worth  while,  will  be." 

Elijah  made  no  immediate  reply.  He  could  not 
get  away  from  the  thought  of  the  thing  that  he  had 
done;  the  thing  that  Helen  had  almost  command 
ed  him  not  to  do.  He  knew  what  she  would  think 
could  she  know  of  the  packet  which  he  had  stealth 
ily  slipped  into  his  private  box.  He  raised  his  eyes, 

110 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

to  meet  Helen's  looking  frankly  into  his  own,  or— 
was  it  his  imagination?  Was  there  an  anxious 
questioning,  born  of  a  half  suspicion  ?  He  put  the 
thought  from  him. 

"Ysleta  was  worth  while, "  he  ventured. 

"In  itself,  it  was.'*  Helen's  face  was  firm  with 
conviction.  "But  these  scheming  rascals  have  made 
it  not  worth  while  for  a  long  time.  There  will  be 
room  for  Ysleta  if  Las  Graces  is  managed  right. 

"It's  going  to  be."  Elijah  spoke  with  no  less 
conviction. 

"Yes,  it's  going  to  be  just  so  long  as  you  keep 
clear  of  boomers'  methods.  Not  one  of  the  boom 
ers  has  cared  a  snap  of  his  fingers  for  Ysleta 's  fu 
ture.  Every  one  has  wanted  all  he  could  get,  now." 

"Now?"  Elijah  repeated. 

"Yes,  now;  but  we  have  to  wait  for  things  that 
are  worth  while." 

"Good  Heavens,  Helen!    Haven't  I  waited?" 

"Wait  a  little  longer."  Her  voice  was  eager,  al 
most  pleading. 

"About  the  Pico  ranch?" 

"Just  that,  Elijah."  Il« -Ion  made  no  attempt 
to  restrain  the  sigh  of  ivlicf  that  escaped  her. 

"I  can't  wait,  Helen.  Y<m  saw  wh»>iv  that  <litdi 
line  was  going.  Others  will  see  it.  You  saw  that 
only  a  hill  lay  between  it  and  Pico's  ranch.  Others 
will  see  it.  A  tunnel  suggested  itself  to  you.  It  will 
suggest  itself  to  others.  \\V  \\viv  the  first  to  see 

111 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

these  things,  why  should  we  not  take  advantage  of 
them?" 

"But  Seymour  and  Ralph,  Elijah.  It  isn't  fair 
to  them." 

"I  have  given  them  enough." 

"Yes,  but—" 

Elijah  interrupted  her. 

"I  want  to  do  things.  You  want  to  do  things." 
He  was  striding  back  and  forth  across  the  floor  of 
the  office  in  growing  excitement.  ' '  I  don 't  care  for 
money.  You  don't  care  for  money.  Look!"  He 
laid  his  hand  on  her  arm  and  pointed  to  the  dusty 
street.  "  'Except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they 
labor  in  vain  that  build  it.'  Because  of  this,  it  is 
falling !  falling !  But  one  can  breathe  the  breath  of 
life  into  these  dry  bones.  It  shall  rise  from  its 
ashes.  Deliver  these  lands  from  the  hands  of  them 
who  have  wrought  this," — he  flung  his  hand  to 
ward  the  street, — "from  them  and  their  kind,  and 
Ysleta  shall  yet  live.  It  shall  look  forth  upon  waters 
of  plenty  flowing  from  the  mountains,  upon  green 
hillsides,  and  upon  valleys  standing  out  with  fat 
ness."  He  paused,  his  voice  dropped  almost  to  a 
whisper,  but  vibrating  with  intense  emotion.  *  *  The 
vision  of  the  future  came  to  me.  I  was  alone  and 
I  waited.  Then  you  came  into  my  life.  What  I 
lack,  you  have;  patience,  sympathy.  You  don't 
know  what  it  means  to  me." 

Helen's  eyes  were  not  frank  and  fearless  now. 

112 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

They  \VITO  shrinking,  questioning,  doubting;  but 
they  could  not  drop  from  Elijah's.  She  felt  rather 
than  knew  her  feet  were  trembling  on  the  brink, 
but  she  could  not  turn  back.  The  old  fascination 
was  yet  strong  upon  her,  but  she  felt  its  strength 
as  a  whole.  Of  its  elemental  compounds  she  was 
ignorant;  the  religious  fanaticism  that  with  fren 
zied  kisses  wears  smooth  a  block  of  worthless  stone ; 
the  merciless  vanity  that  comes  to  one  who  is  fixed 
in  the  belief  that  he  is  God's  elect;  the  human  ele 
ment  that  demands  love,  sympathy  and  unswerving 
devotion  to  the  idols  he  worships,  whatever  the  cost 
to  others.  These  were  strong  elements  and  Helen 
felt  their  power  even  as  Ralph  and  others  had  felt 
it.  There  was  in  Elijah  an  unshaken,  unshakable 
belief  in  himself.  His  work  appealed  to  others  as 
it  had  appealed  to  Helen.  Others  selected  with  un 
clouded  judgment  the  grains  of  Elijah's  enthusiasm 
from  the  chaff  of  his  fanaticism.  Others  had  not 
a  woman's  heart;  Helen  had.  She  was  not  con 
scious  of  it,  of  how  it  was  blinding  her  judgment, 
of  w lu-re  it  was  leading  her.  This  consciousness  was 
dimly  suggesting  itself  to  her,  not  from  herself 
but  from  Elijah.  Let  him  arouse  that  conscious- 
to  active  life,  then  she  would  know,  then  she 
would  act! 

Helen  divw  a  deep,  inspiring  breath,  looking  up 
again.  II-  r  «-\vs  were  fiercely  questioning. 

No!    This  x.i'ulous  passion  that  strn<l<-  sure-footed 

113 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

on  the  brink  of  destruction,  could  not  be  assumed, 
was  not  assumed.  Helen  was  quick  to  judge  and 
quick  to  decide  when  she  saw  clearly.  She  was 
clean  of  heart  and  pure  of  mind.  She  could  not 
know  that  a  human  soul,  lashed  to  frenzy  by  the 
stings  of  an  outraged  conscience,  can  yet  clothe  it 
self  in  robes  that  might  be  worn  by  an  angel  of 
light. 

"Then  I  saw  in  my  dream  that  there  was  a  way 
to  hell,  even  from  the  gates  of  heaven,  as  well  as 
from  the  city  of  destruction." 


114 


CHAPTER  TWELVE 

"Whether  warned  by  intuition  that  one  more  step 
would  be  fatal,  or  whether  his  blinded  sense  of  right 
was  asserting  itself,  the  fact  remained  that  for 
several  days,  Elijah  was  hardly  ever  in  the  office 
and  even  then  for  only  a  brief  time.  He  seemed  to 
Helen,  absorbed  if  not  sullen.  At  first  she  noticed 
this  with  positive  relief;  later  she  had  misgivings 
which  grew  more  insistent  as  time  went  on.  She 
saw  and  she  could  not  see.  She  saw  the  dream  of 
Elijah's  solitary  years  daily  takinir  shape  and  form. 
She  saw  that  his  work  had  roots  which  struck  deep 
in  solid,  lasting  worth;  she  saw  Ysleta  founded  on 
drifting  sand.  The  one  had  solid  business  prin 
ciples;  the  other  had  glittering  promis.  s  as  worth- 
as  fairy  trold.  Was  this  all?  From  hero  on, 
her  vision  was  blurred.  Was  this  principle  which 
one  had  and  the  other  had  not,  after  all.  rooted  d.-.-p 
in  the  mysterious  influence  which  guided  Klijah's 
life? 

It  was  with  positive  gratitude  on.-  mornin<_r  that 
she  heard  Uncle  Sid's  pnndi-mus  knock  on  her  door 
and  his  raucous  voice  calling  to  her. 

115 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Come,  Helen.  Let's  you  and  me  take  a  walk 
before  the  sun  has  burned  the  dust  all  off  o'  the 
grass." 

' 'All  right,  Uncle  Sid!  I'll  be  there  in  a  mo 
ment." 

She  was  up  and  dressed  almost  before  the  echo  of 
Uncle  Sid's  voice  had  died  away. 

Uncle  Sid  eyed  her  approvingly  as  she  stepped 
into  the  hall. 

"Pretty  trim  lookin'  craft,"  he  remarked. 
1 '  Don 't  take  you  long  to  get  under  way,  either. ' ' 

"Where  are  you  going,  Uncle  Sid?" 

' '  Anywhere,  so  I  get  out  o '  the  smell  o '  varnish ! 
Sand's  better'n  that."  Uncle  Sid  wrinkled  his 
nose  in  deep  disgust.  "You  can  blow  sand  off;  but 
this  stuff !  It  just  soaks  into  you  till  you  can  taste 
it." 

Helen  laughed. 

"It  is  penetrating." 

"Penetratin'I"  Uncle  Sid  snorted.  "I  should 
say  it  was.  If  starvin'  cannibals  just  got  one  whilY 
of  us  they'd  never  think  o'  cookin'  us  unless  they'd 
got  used  to  lunchin'  off  pitch  pine." 

They  passed  through  the  office,  startling  a  dozing 
clerk  and  porter  to  forced  attention ;  but  these,  dis 
covering  that  their  services  were  not  needed,  settled 
themselves  to  their  former  positions. 

The  outside  air  was  heavy  with  the  indescribable 

116 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

odor  of  newness  and  of  hustling  activity  in  drowsy 
repose. 

Uncle  Sid  had  a  bag  in  his  hand  which  bumped 
softly  against  the  outer  door  as  he  opened  it. 

" Oranges/'  he  explained.  "Hope  to  Gracious 
they  ain't  infected.  I  gave  'em  a  good  chance.  I 
kept  'em  in  my  room  last  night." 

Outside  the  door,  he  gained  his  first  knowledge  of 
a  California  fog.  The  sticky,  clammy  chill  pene 
trated  their  garments  like  water.  Uncle  Sid  but 
toned  his  sailor  jacket  as  he  descended  the  broad 
steps. 

"This  settles  it!" 

"Settles  what?"  Helen  inquired,  her  teeth  chat 
tering. 

"This  'ere  fog  has  given  me  an  idea.  I'm  goin* 
down  to  the  river,  the  Christopher  Sawyer,  or  some 
such  heathen  name.  I  just  bet  it's  one  of  those  un 
canny  sort  o'  streams  that  fit  this  country  like  a  wet 
sail  to  a  spar." 

"You'll  have  to  explain,  Uncle  Sid;  I'm  stupid 
this  mornin.L'.'' 

Uncle  Sid  looked  sceptical,  but  resumed  his  point. 

"Just  look  at  this  fog!  I  bet  that  the  Chris 
topher  Sawyer  gets  out  o'  bed  nights  and  distrib- 
Otei  itst-lf  through  the  air  general,  an'  waits  for  the 
sun  to  herd  it  back.  I'm  goin'  down  to  see." 

Helen  followed  the  old  gi'iitlnnan,  absently 
humoring  him  in  his  fancy.  She  was  in  a  listening 

117 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

mood  rather  than  a  talkative  one,  and  Uncle  Sid 
distracted  her  thoughts  from  her  own  perplexities. 

"Gosh  a 'mighty!"  Uncle  Sid  was  out  in  the 
street,  peering  through  the  mist.  "Seem's  like 
wadin'  through  skim  milk." 

"Which  way?"    Helen  paused  beside  him. 

"I  snum  to  Gracious  if  I  know!  I  didn't  adjust 
my  compasses  last  night,  an'  I  guess  I'll  have  to 
sail  by  dead  reckonin'.  Every  country  that  ever 
I  was  in  before,  an'  I've  been  in  most  of  'em,  the 
water  ran  down  hill.  Now  here,  what  there  is  of 
it,  don't  seem  to  pay  any  attention  to  grades. 
"When  it  comes  to  a  hill,  it  just  changes  to  gas, 
coagulates  on  the  other  side,  an'  goes  on." 

Uncle  Sid  was  under  way;  Helen,  absorbed  in 
thought,  followed  absently  in  his  wake.  The  palms 
which  the  industrious  boomers  had  planted  along 
the  streets,  loomed  hazily  through  the  fog  ahead, 
gradually  sharpened  in  outline,  and  again  grew 
hazy  with  distance,  as  they  passed  them  by.  From 
each  palm,  a  tuft  of  yellow-green  spears  stood  up 
defiantly  above  a  cluster  of  gray  spikes  pointing 
downward  to  their  warty  trunks ;  a  picture  of  hope 
eternal  in  spite  of  inevitable  death,  as  cheerfully 
suggestive  of  mortality,  as  the  upward  pointing 
'hands,  and  the  downward-drooping  willows  on  the 
tombstones  of  New  England's  puritan  dead. 

Helen  was  wondering  what  possible  pleasure  there 
could  be  in  this  walk,  but  it  was  new  and  strange 

118 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

to  Uncle  Sid  and  he  ploughed  steadily  ahead.  In 
spite  of  the  drapririn?  sand  that  made  her  feet  feel 
like  lead,  the  exercise  did  not  stir  her  blood  to  a 
plow  of  warmth.  The  physical  chill  of  the  fog, 
the  tawny  sand  that  seemed  to  tinge  the  creeping 
mist,  the  mental  chill  of  her  mood  affected  her  so 
that  it  suddenly  seemed  to  her  as  if  she  could  not 
take  another  step. 

" Aren't  you  hunting  needless  trouble,  Uncle 
Sid?"  she  suddenly  cried,  stopping  short  and  look 
ing  at  Uncle  Sid.  "Let's  go  back.  We  can  be  no 
end  more  miserable  in  our  awful  hotel  with  only 
half  the  trouble." 

"I  ain't  seen  no  signs  of  the  Christopher  Saw 
yer  yet,  exceptin'  this."  Uncle  Sid  clove  a  semi 
circle  through  the  mist  with  his  outstretched  arm. 

"Oh,  well,  if  it's  a  scientific  voyage,  Uncle  Sid, 
let's  go  right  on." 

"Must  be  that.  It's  something  an'  it  ain't  no 
pleasure  excursion,  that's  sure!" 

They  plodded  on.  It  seemed  to  Helen  as  if  it 
were  miles,  she  was  certain  it  was  hours.  At  last 
it  grew  lighter,  and  tin-  yellow  tawn  of  the  sand 
appeared  to  have  risen  higher  and  higher,  till  the 
whole  of  the  shrouding  mist  was  a  yellow  haze. 

"I  can't  go  another  step,  Uncle  Sid."  Helen 
stopped  short  and  sat  down  on  a  hummock  of  sand. 

"What  \  the  matter  little  girl?  You  seem  sort  o' 
done  up  this  mornin',"  Uncle  Sid  dropped  beside 

119 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

her  with  a  sounding  slump.     "There!  here  I  be! 
If  I  didn't  ring,  it  ain't  because  I  ain't  hollow." 

He  unfolded  a  paper  bag  and  drawing  forth  some 
formidable  sandwiches  passed  one  to  Helen  and 
began  eating  one  himself.  The  sandwiches  dis 
posed  of,  he  again  investigated  the  bag.  This  time 
he  brought  out  two  large  oranges. 

"They  do  one  thing  shipshape  in  this  country." 
He  was  eyeing  Helen  keenly  while  tearing  the  rind 
from  his  orange.  "They  do  up  water  in  mighty 
neat  shape,  but  they  do  charge  for  it  though.  That's 
what  they  do!"  he  rattled  on.  "These  yellow 
water-balls  cost  me  five  cents  apiece,  they  did ! "  He 
parted  the  segments  carefully,  anxious  lest  a  drop 
of  the  juice  should  be  wasted.  Again  his  eyes 
rested  thoughtfully  on  Helen's  somber  face. 

"What's  the  trouble,  Helen?" 

Helen's  answer  was  accompanied  by  a  blended 
look  of  assent  to  Uncle  Sid's  assumption  and  a 
humorous  denial  of  it. 

"One  is  often  absent  minded  over  troubles  that 
can't  be  explained  even  to  one's  best  friends." 

"Well,"  Uncle  Sid  was  not  wholly  satisfied, 
"perhaps  by  the  time  I'm  your  best  friend,  you'll 
be  ready  to  tell  me. ' ' 

"I  think  that  may  be  very  soon,"  said  Helen 
soberly,  as  she  finished  her  orange. 

"Have  another?"  Uncle  Sid  held  out  the  bag 
cordially. 

120 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Helen  was  morally  certain  that  Uncle  Sid's  New 
England  thrift  was  dwelling  on  foe  five  cents 
apiece;  but  she  took  the  proffered  orange.  Uncle 
Sid  rose  clumsily  to  his  feet. 

"Now  for  the  Christopher  Sawyer." 

The  mist  was  rapidly  clearing.  Without  visible 
means  of  locomotion,  wisps  of  fog  rose  from  the 
ground  in  the  distance,  trailed  along  like  a  sea- 
bird  rising  from  the  water,  then  melted  in  the 
air.  They  were  standing  on  the  edge  of  a  mesa. 
Below  them,  tall  cottonwoods  rose  in  a  straggling, 
sinuous  line,  their  trunks  matted  with  clinging 
vines,  their  branches  loaded  almost  to  the  breaking 
point  with  clusters  of  parasitic  plants.  A  line  of 
shrubs,  filling  in  between  the  trees,  were  bowed  in 
a  mat  of  tangled  verdure  that  was  dotted  and 
sprinkled  with  rainbow  colors.  White-rimmed 
ditches  appeared  from  behind  projecting  promon 
tories  of  yellow  sand,  crawled  under  wire  fences 
whose  crooked,  ghostly  sticks,  like  the  legs  of  some 
gigantic  centipede,  straggled  around  patches  of 
wheat  and  barley.  Outside  these  patches  of  green, 
adobe  huts  were  surrounded  by  other  scrairirly 
sticks,  driven  into  the  ground  and  held  upright 
by  wires  which  were  stretched  out  to  them  from 
occasional  cottonwoods. 

Back  of  them,  Ysleta  was  lost  to  sight  behind  a 
rising  grade  of  yellow  sand,  dotted  by  clumps  of 
chaparral  and  cactus.  Across  the  barranca,  over 

121 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

the  tops  of  the  highest  cottonwoods,  the  rolling 
mesa  stretched  as  barren  and  forbidding  as  that  on 
which  they  were  standing. 

"I  bet  that's  the  Christopher  Sawyer!'*  Uncle 
Sid  was  pointing  to  the  tangled  mass  of  vegeta 
tion.  "These  are  the  first  things  I've  seen  that 
look  as  if  they'd  had  enough  to  drink." 

Helen  was  looking  in  another  direction. 

"How  queer  those  cattle  are  acting." 

She  was  watching  a  bunch  of  cattle  about  three 
hundred  yards  away.  They  were  clustered  thickly, 
their  heads  pointed  towards  herself  and  Unclfr-.-Sid. 
In  front  of  the  herd,  a  huge  bull  was  pawing  the 
sand.  There  was  a  muffled  bellowing  and  from 
beneath  the  nostrils  of  his  low-hanging  head,  spurts 
of  dust  rose  in  the  air. 

"Those  critters  do  look  hostile,  an'  there  ain't 
no  fence  to  get  over  an'  not  a  gosh-hanged  tree  to 
climb."  Uncle  Sid  spoke  uneasily. 

Across  the  barranca,  they  caught  sight  of  an 
other  cloud  of  dust,  from  which  swung  wildly 
gesticulating  arms.  At  the  same  time,  from  one 
of  the  adobes,  they  saw  a  vaquero  emerge.  His 
arms  too,  were  wildly  waving.  In  response  to  his 
cries  which  they  heard  only  faintly,  two  bunches 
of  yapping  gray  fur  swept  across  the  white-rimmed 
ditches  and  rolled  up  the  bank. 

There  was  evidently  an  unwonted  excitement  of 
which  Helen  and  Uncle  Sid  were  an  important 

122 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

part.  Then  the  cattle  came  to  a  conclusion  and, 
with  lowered  heads  and  tails  sticking  upright,  they 
charged  straight  for  Uncle  Sid  and  Helen. 

The  horsemen,  meanwhile  had  crossed  the  bar 
ranca,  and  the  next  instant,  horses  and  riders  with 
the  yapping  fur,  had  turned  the  vigorously  charg 
ing  cattle  to  an  equally  vigorous  retreat. 

Winston  sprang  from  his  horse  in  front  of  Uncle 
Sid.  His  face  was  white  with  anger. 

"Where  did  you  come  from?—  '  he  began. 

"From  God's  country,  young  man,  and  we  got 
lost."  Uncle  Sid  was  unabashed.  Winston's  face 
broke  into  a  smile ;  then  he  caught  sight  of  Helen. 

"You  ought  to  know  better  than  this,  Helen. " 

"Better  than  what,  young  man?" 

"Better  than  to  go  walking  around  here.  You 
see  these  cattle  are  more  than  half  wild.  They 
don't  often  see  a  footman,  and  when  they  have 
calves,  they  are  dangerous.  If  you  had  been 
mounted,  you  could  have  ridden  through  the  bun  eh 
and  they  wouldn't  have  noticed  you." 

"Well;  we  shall  have  to  walk  back,  apparently." 
Helen's  smile  was  not  wholly  spontaneous. 

"To  God's  country?  It's  a  long  way."  Ralph 
was  smiling  at  Helen's  chagrin. 

Hrlen  laughed. 

"Perhaps  you  could  show  us  the  way?" 

"You  would  better  go  down  to  Pedro's  ranch  and 

123 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

wait.  Our  supply  wagons  will  be  along  shortly, 
and  they  will  take  you  to. town." 

" Young  man,"  Uncle  Sid  broke  in,  "you  seem 
to  know  this  country.  Is  that  strip  o'  damp  sand 
down  there,  the  Christopher  Sawyer?" 

"The  what?"  For  a  moment,  Ralph's  face  was 
blank  astonishment,  then  he  burst  into  a  hearty 
laugh. 

"Oh,  the  Sangre  de  Christo!    Yes." 

"They  both  mean  the  same  thing.  Whew! 
Helen,  I've  got  another  idea  about  this  country. 
It's  a  great  country  for  raisin'  ideas,  if  it  ain't 
good  for  anything  else.  It's  prolific!  It  would 
make  a  stone  man  think."  He  paused,  fanning 
himself  vigorously.  "There  ain't  any  use  talk- 
in';  it's  great!  Soaks  thinks  full  o'  fog- water 
nights,  an'  then  the  sun  comes  out  mornin's  and 
boils  'em.  If  it  wasn't  for  fogs  'twould  roast  'em. 
I  don't  wonder  'Lige  Berl  gets  a  broad  view  o' 
Providence,  You  can  get  all  sorts  o'  vittles  in  this 
country,  roasted,  boiled  and  dried.  I  bet  those 
critters  are  carryin'  around  dried  beef  on  their 
bones  right  now." 

Ralph's  look  of  amusement  gave  way  to  one  of 
inquiry. 

"Are  you  a  friend  of  Elijah  Berl?"  he  asked. 
"Helen,  why  don't  you  introduce  us?" 

But  Uncle  Sid  again  interrupted. 

"Worse  than  that,  young  man,  worse  than  that. 

124 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

It's  most  as  bad  as  blood  relations.  Me  and  'Lige 
Deri's  folks  have  been  brought  up  in  the  same 
neighborhood  back  in  New  England  for  ages. 

Ralph  started  to  reply  to  Uncle  Sid,  but  a  glance 
at  Helen  changed  his  mind. 

"Let's  get  down  to  Pedro's  ranch,  in  the  shade. 
The  wagons  won't  be  along  for  an  hour  yet."  He 
tried  to  walk  by  Helen's  side,  but  she  waited  for 
Uncle  Sid. 

The  last  remnant  of  the  fog  had  departed;  the 
sun  was  blazing  fiercely.  Toward  Ysleta,  the  air 
was  already  shimmering  over  the  sand.  By  the 
ditches  and  among  the  vines,  was  the  music  of  many 
birds  and  the  cheerful  notes  of  Bob  White. 

Half  stifled  with  the  choking  dust,  they  scuffled 
and  slid  down  the  steep  trail  that  led  to  Pedro's 
adobe. 

Pedro  was  following,  his  stolid  face  stifling  his 
emotions.  At  the  gate,  the  vaquero  and  Winston, 
drawing  their  reins  over  their  ponies'  heads, 
dropped  them  on  the  ground.  Pedro  stepped  for 
ward,  swept  his  hat  from  his  head  and  held  the  gate 
open  for  his  guests  to  pass  through.  Following 
them,  he  pointed  to  an  inviting  hammock,  swung 
between  two  fruit  trees.  Again  he  s\\vpt  his  hat 
from  his  head. 

"Perhaps  the  sefiorita  will  honor  my  poor  ham 
mock  by  reposing  in  it." 
125 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Helen  stepped  to  the  hammock.  Another  grace 
ful  bow  from  Pedro. 

"At  your  feet,  sefiorita." 

Uncle  Sid,  uninvited,  explored  the  garden.  Pedro 
was  marching  to  the  adobe.  To  Helen  it  seemed 
as  if  she  had  never  before  experienced  such  a 
delicious  sensation  as  the  resting  of  her  tired  body 
in  the  perfectly  adjusted  hammock.  Ralph  was 
watching  her. 

''Pedro  has  departed,  may  I  take  his  place  I" 
Assuming  an  affirmative  answer,  he  stretched  him 
self  at  her  feet. 

"Helen,  what's  wrong?"  he  asked  anxiously. 

"Nothing,  that  I  know  of."  She  replied  eva 
sively. 

"Is  it  the  office?"  persisted  Winston. 

"Why  can't  you  believe  me?"  There  was  a 
trace  of  annoyance  in  her  manner. 

"Because  when  your  eyes  tell  me  one  thing  and 
your  lips  another,  I'm  going  to  take  my  choice." 

"I  really  don't  like  to  ask  you  to  attend  to  your 
own  business,  Ralph."  There  was  a  flash  of  the 
old  humor  in  her  voice. 

"You  oughtn't  to  say  that  to  me,  Helen,  for  the 
sake  of  old  times— if  for  nothing  more,"  he  added 
deliberately. 

Helen  understood  the  conditional  "if",  as  well 
as  tho  expression  of  his  eyes.  A  surest  ion  of  red 
tinged  the  clear  olive  of  her  cheeks. 

126 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

••This  is  no  place  for  confidences,  even  if  I  had 
any  to  exchai. 

Later  on  then."     Ralph's  lips  were  decided. 
"Who  is  your  friend?"  he  added. 

"Uncle  Sid?  He  is  an  old  friend  of  Elijah's. 
He  and  his  sister  are  stopping  at  the  Vista." 

There  sounded  the  leisurely  chut-chut  of  the 
lumbering  wagons.  Ralph  rose  to  his  feet. 

' 'There  come  the  wagons." 

At  tin-  waiTon,  Helen  insisted  upon  riding  in  the 
driver's  scat.  Uncle  Sid  was  stowed  in  the  rear. 
Ralph  flashed  a  look  toward  Helen. 

' ' My  horse  won't  lead,"  he  declared.  "You  ride 
him  in,  Jim,  and  I'll  drive." 

If  Ralph  had  counted  upon  a  quiet  talk  with 
ll.-len  during  the  ride  to  Ysleta,  he  was  certainly 
disappointed.  Uncle  Sid's  position  in  the  back 
ground  was  the  only  thing  in  the  rear  which  he  ac 
cepted.  In  the  matter  of  conversation,  he  was  well 
to  the  front. 

"What's  'Lige  Berl  doin'  in  this  country  any 
way?"  he  questioned  Ralph. 

"  'Lige?"  repeated  Ralph.  "Oh,  he  dreamed  a 
dream;  was  five  years  at  it.  He  dreamed  of 
oranges,  big  fellows  without  seeds;  of  mountains 
with  too  much  water  ami  of  deserts  without  enough. 
Then  be  dn-amed  of  buiichiuir  the  ihive  toother 
I'm-  their  mutual  benefit.  He  convinced  some  KaM- 

127 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

era  capital  that  it  was  no  dream  after  all.  Now 
we  are  trying  to  make  good." 

Uncle  Sid  grunted. 

''That's  tolerably  condensed." 

Ralph  laughed  at  Uncle  Sid's  disapproval. 

"If  you  are  really  interested,  you'd  better  let  us 
show  you  around  a*  little.  You  can  see  a  good  deal 
better  than  I  can  tell  you." 

Uncle  Sid's  face  had  lost  its  humorous  wrinkles. 

"  'Lige  is  really  doin'  something  worth  while  out 
here,  is  he?" 

"He's  got  me  on  the  jump.  That's  a  good  deal 
in  itself." 

"What  are  you  doin'?" 

"  Oh, "  Ralph  laughed.    "  I  'm  being  bossed. 

Uncle  Sid  looked  sharply  at  Ralph. 

"If  I  was  on  the  quarter  deck  as  I  used  to  be, 
an'  saw  you  afore  the  mast,  I'd  think  over  my 
orders  before  I  handed  'em  to  you.  If  'Lige  has 
any  sense  with  his  dreamin',  he'll  do  the  same." 

"Helen's  helping  'Lige  to  boss  me.  When  he 
isn't  around,  she  does  it  alone." 

Uncle  Sid  looked  at  Helen.  The  humorous 
wrinkles  returned  to  his  face. 

"What's  the  matter  with  you?  You  swallowed 
your  tongue?" 

"No;  I'm  holding  it."  She  answered  Uncle 
Sid's  look  as  well  as  his  words. 

The  lumbering  wagon  drew  up  in  front  of  the 

128 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Rio  Vista.  Before  Ralph  could  dispose  of  the 
reins,  Helen  was  on  the  ground  and  ascending  the 
steps  of  the  hotel.  At  the  top  she  paused,  speaking 
to  Ralph. 

"I'm  going  to  take  Uncle  Sid  out  to  the  works 
before  long.  ' '  Then  she  entered  the  door. 

Uncle  Sid  turned  to  Ralph. 

"I  don't  guess  you're  bein'  bossed  quite  so 
much  as  you  say."  He  slowly  clambered  from  the 
wagon  and  stood,  looking  at  Ralph,  his  hand  on 
the  wheel.  "I  ain't  askin'  questions  just  for  fun," 
he  began. 

Ralph  interrupted. 

"I  won't  answer  your  questions  in  fun  either. 
But  you  do  what  Helen  says.  Come  out  to  the 
works. ' ' 

Perhaps  it  was  because  she  had  expected  too 
much,  but  Helen  was  disappointed  in  the  morning. 
Certain  things  had  been  disquieting.  Ralph's 
words  "For  the  sake  of  old  times,  if  for  nothing 
else"— had  at  first  annoyed  her.  The  annoyance 
changed  to  a  questioning  disquietude.  The  very 
annoyance  suggested  possibilities  which  had  never 
distinctly  occurred  to  her  before.  She  did  not,  she 
could  not  resent  it  as  she  would  like  to  do.  She 
could  not  avoid  a  comparison  between  the  clear, 
steady  eyes  of  Ralph  Winston  and  the  glowing, 
shifting  ones  of  Elijah  Berl  which  had  moved  her 
so  profoundly. 

129 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BEKL 

The  contrast  between  the  two  men  forced  itself 
upon  her.  The  convincing  alertness  of  Ralph  Win 
ston,  clear  and  cool  and  bracing,  the  glowing  mys 
tical  enthusiasm  of  Elijah  Berl  that  breathed  upon 
her,  laid  hold  upon  her  like  languorous  exhalations 
from  a  tropic  growth.  She  recalled  her  childhood 
days  with  Ralph  Winston.  His  masterful  ways 
which  flashed  out  in  open  revolt  against  her  im 
petuous  temper,  that  took  her  in  his  arms  and  in 
spite  of  her  panting  protests,  soothed  her 
into  forgiving  smiles.  There  was  no  yielding 
to  her  wrongs,  no  tyranny  in  his  right,  but  a  subtle 
stimulating  air  that  suggested  no  personality, 
rather  an  impersonal  force  which  compelled  him, 
even  as  it  did  her. 

There  were  tears  in  her  eyes  now.  There  was  a 
great  longing  to  go  to  Ralph  as  she  had  gone  years 
ago,  to  hear  again  the  words  which  had  melted  her 
darkness  into  clear  light.  An  almost  irresistible 
impulse  came  to  her.  "Why  not  go  to  him  now?" 
He  had  opened  the  way.  A  word,  a  motion,  a 
glance  from  her  eyes  and  the  way  would  open  again. 
She  rose  to  her  feet  and  laid  her  hand  upon  the 
door. 

Had  Winston  been  in  the  hotel  that  night !  But 
he  was  miles  away  and  she  returned  to  her  seat. 
Her  brain  went  on  and  on,  twisting  and  turning 
the  same  old  problem.  Ralph  knew  Elijah  Berl,  yet 
he  had  cast  in  his  lot  with  him.  Ralph  trusted  in 

130 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

his  own  strength,  why  should  not  she  trust  in  hers? 
She  drew  a  long,  shuddering  breath.  Elijah  had 
asked  her  for  bread.  Could  she  give  him  a  stone? 


131 


CHAPTER  THIRTEEN 

Winston  had  been  in  earnest  when  he  invited  the 
old  sea  captain  to  make  him  a  visit.  He  had  felt  as 
strongly  attracted  to  the  kindly  old  man  as  Uncle 
Sid  had  been  to  him.  To  a  certain  extent  he  was 
curious  to  know  just  why  Eliah's  affairs  so  deeply 
interested  him.  The  chance  remark  of  the  old  cap 
tain  to  the  effect  that  he  had  known  Elijah  from 
childhood  up,  was  a  partial  explanation  that  opened 
the  door  to  the  desire  to  know  the  cause  in  full. 
Evidently  the  youthful  Elijah  had  displayed  the 
same  characteristics  which  maturer  years  had  de 
veloped  in  California.  Winston  guessed  that  the 
weak  spots  in  Elijah  which  had  aroused  his  own 
opposition,  had  not  escaped  the  eyes  of  the  captain. 
As  day  after  day  passed  by,  he  concluded  that 
Uncle  Sid  was  waiting  for  Helen  and  that  Helen 
was  too  busy  to  accompany  him. 

Whether  Uncle  Sid  had  become  tired  of  waiting 
for  Helen  or  whether  he  decided  that  a  proper 
time  had  elapsed  since  the  invitation  had  been 
given,  matters  not.  Late  one  afternoon,  one  of  the 
supply  wagons  delivered  him  at  Ralph's  tent. 

The  flaps  of  the  tent  were  open  and  Ralph  was 

132 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

there  explaining  some  blue  prints  to  one  of  his 
assistants.    lie  looked  up  at  the  sound  of  the  wagon. 
"Oh,  hello,  Captain!     I'm  mighty  glad  to  see 
you.    I  had  about  given  you  up." 

1 '  Huh ! "  the  old  man  grunted.  ' '  That  ain  't  over 
complimentary.  From  what  I've  heard,  you  ain't 
over  quick  at  givin'  up  what  is  worth  while." 

"Give  me  a  chance,  Captain.  You  don't  want  to 
believe  all  that  you  hear." 

"I  don't.     That's  what  I'm  up  here  for." 
"Now  we're  even  on  compliments.    Let's  call  it 
quits." 

Uncle  Sid  looked  up  shrewdly. 
"Figures  and  doin'  things  ain't  all  that  you're 
quick  at."     He  paused,  taking  in  the  assistant. 
"Don't  mind  me.     You  go  on  stuffin'  that  young 
man.    He  ain't  full  yet." 

"Just  a  minute;  then  I'm  yours  truly."    Ralph 
devoted  a  few  moments  to  the  "young  man"  who, 
haviiiLr  been   "stuffed",  departed.     "How  would 
you  like  to  take  a  little  drive  up  the  line?" 
"Just  how  much  is  your  little?" 
"It's  fifteen  miles  to  the  next  camp.    If  you  say 
so,  we  will  drive  up  there  and  stay  all  niirht  and 
the  next  day  we  can  make  the  dam  in  the  moun 
tains.    I  think  you'll  like  it,  if  it  isn't  too  much.' 
Ralph  purposely  touched  up  Uncle  Sid  with  his 
last  remark. 

"I  ain't  too  old  to  know  when  I've  got  enough 

133 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

an'  I  ain't  bashful  at  hollerin'  about  it,  either. 
You  just  drive  on  till  I  holler,  unless  you  get 
enough  before." 

Uncle  Sid  had  little  to  say  on  the  way,  but  his 
keen  eyes  were  taking  in  everything  along  the 
line.  Ralph's  explanations  were  listened  to  in 
silence.  Ralph  was  not  slow  to  note  the  absorbed 
interest  of  his  companion,  nor  the  fact  that  not  a 
word  of  his  explanations  was  lost.  At  every  gang 
of  men,  Ralph  was  halted  by  alert  foremen,  and 
often  he  left  the  team  in  charge  of  Uncle  Sid  while 
he  went  forth  to  untangle  some  snarled  bit  of  work 
or  to  give  farther  directions  in  advancing  it. 

The  sun  was  down  when  they  drew  up  before 
the  camp  and  surrendered  the  team  to  a  waiting 
Mexican. 

Uncle  Sid  glanced  at  Ralph  with  a  look  at  once 
appreciative  and  cynical. 

"The  next  time  you  tell  me  about  a  place,  you 
just  say  how  long  it  is,  not  how  far." 

"You'll  have  to  excuse  me  there.  You  see  I 
know  distances,  but  I  can't  always  say  about  the 
time." 

Ralph  was  up  the  next  morning  even  before  the 
captain  who  believed  in  early  rising. 

"Good  morning,  Captain.  Ready  for  another 
trip?" 

"I  guess  so." 

"I  can  tell  distance  and  time  all  right  today. 

134 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

Do  you  see  what  you're  up  against?"  Ralph 
pointed  to  the  towering  San  Bernardinos.  ''It's 
horseback  from  here  and  we  ought  to  be  there  by 
throe  o'clock  anyway." 

At  the  mouth  of  the  canon,  Ralph  explained  the 
dam  that  was  being  built  across  the  river  and  the 
heavy  gates  that  were  being  put  in. 

"You  see  we  let  the  water  come  from  the  reser 
voir  as  far  as  this,  in  its  natural  bed.  If  any 
thing  should  happen  along  the  canal  we  can  shut 
off  the  water  at  this  point  first.  Later,  we  could 
shut  it  off  at  the  reservoir." 

Uncle  Sid  asked  a  few  questions,  then  they  began 
to  climb  the  steep  mountains.  They  passed  loaded 
pack-mules  going  up  and  empty  trains  coming  down 
the  trail.  In  places  the  trail  was  a  narrow  shelf 
along  the  face  of  a  nearly  perpendicular  cliff.  Be 
low  them  ran  the  river  in  its  narrow  gorge,  above 
them  gleamed  a  slender  strip  of  sky  cut  into  ragged 
I  by  towering  cliffs.  Just  as  the  trail  climbed 
to  the  edge  of  the  canon  it  seemed  to  end  against  a 
smooth  wall  of  granite.  A  sharp  turn  to  the  left, 
and  Uncle  Sid  could  not  repress  an  exclamation  of 
a  \vt-d  delight  at  the  scene  before  him.  The  trail 
led  out  upon  a  broad  terrace.  Two  hundred  feet 
below,  a  treeless  valley  wound  out  and  in  among 
rounded  tree-clad  domes  of  granite.  Here  and 
there,  on  either  side,  stately  spires  of  naked  rock 

135 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

thrust  up  into  the  sky,  the  bare  brown  of  their 
sides  striped  with  bands  of  dazzling  white. 

The  dam  was  to  be  situated  between  two  granite 
bluffs  at  the  head  of  the  canon.  The  masonry  gate 
houses  were  already  the  height  of  the  proposed 
dam.  The  gates  themselves  were  closed  and  the 
valley  was  a  great  lake.  The  sight  was  great,  awe- 
inspiring  yet  peaceful. 

"What  do  you  think  of  it?" 

"Who  thought  of  this?"  Uncle  Sid  glanced  at 
Ralph  with  shrewd  eyes. 

"It  thought  itself."  Ralph  answered  evasively. 
"We  are  really  only  doing  here  what  nature  her 
self  did  and  then  undid.  You  can  see  that  this 
valley  was  once  a  great  natural  lake.  The  Sangre 
de  Cristo  cut  through  the  canon  and  drained  the 
lake.  Now  we  are  putting  in  a  dam  and  restoring 
it." 

Uncle  Sid  did  not  take  his  eyes  from  Ralph's  im 
passive  face. 

"Young  man,  there's  a  lot  o'  dust  around  here, 
but  you  can't  blow  it  into  my  eyes,  not  that  way. 
You  can't  do  it  by  keep  in'  still  either,  any  more 
than  'Lige  Berl  can  by  talkin'  about  it." 

Ralph  laughed  quietly. 

"Oh,  well,  that  doesn't  matter.  We're  going 
to  get  what  we're  after  and  that's  the  main  thing. 
Let's  go  down  to  camp." 

They  rode  down  the  winding  trail  that  led  from 

136 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

the  upper  terrace.  The  remainder  of  the  after 
noon  was  spent  in  an  inspection  of  the  work. 
After  supper,  their  pipes  lighted,  they  sat  looking 
out  over  the  valley. 

"Engineering  is  a  great  business,"  Uncle  Sid 
observed  meditatively. 

"Yes,"  Ralph  assented,  "so  is  anything,  if  you 
push  it." 

"I  guess  not."  Uncle  Sid  chuckled.  "I  ran 
away  to  sea  when  I  was  twelve  years  old.  My  edu 
cation  was  got  dancin'  at  a  rope's  end  when  the 
captain's  mess  didn't  sit  well  on  his  stomach." 
Uncle  Sid  paused,  again  chuckled.  "A  rope's  end 
makes  a  boy  mighty  observing  ' 

"You  didn't  learn  navigation  that  way  did 
you?" 

"No-o."  Uncle  Sid  pulled  meditatively  at  his 
pipe.  "A  rope's  end  is  also  mighty  stimulatin'  to 
the  imagination.  It  struck  me  that  I  had  got  all 
I  needed.  At  the  same  time,  I  saw  old  sailors  with 
bald  heads  an'  gray  whiskers,  still  a  dancin'.  The 
only  difference  I  could  see  between  them  an'  the 
captain  was  that  the  captain  could  squint  at  the 
sun  through  a  spyglass  with  a  half  moon  hitched 
to  it,  an'  tell  the  man  at  the  wheel  to  hold  the  ship's 
head  nor '-nor 'east." 

"Then  what?" 

"Then?  Oh,  I  just  got  me  a  nautical  almanac  and 
learned  to  squint  too.  The  first  thing  I  knew  I  was 

137 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

mate,  then  first  officer  an'  by  squintin'  long  enough 
I  squinted  myself  on  the  quarter  deck." 

Ralph  waited  a  moment,  then  spoke  laughingly, 
"I  guess  my  rope's  end  wasn't  so  very  different 
from  yours,  only  I  had  mine  in  college." 

"You  didn't  run  away  to  college,  did  you?" 
1  'No,  I  didn't;  but  I  had  a  gad  flying  around 
my  heels,  just  the  same.  After  I  got  out  of  col 
lege,  I  was  engaged  as  assistant  to  a  famous  hy 
draulic  engineer.  He  sent  me  into  the  mountains 
to  make  a  preliminary  survey.  There  weren't  many 
men  as  big  as  I  was  when  I  strapped  a  level  and  a 
transit  to  my  mule's  back  and  started  off.  I  wad 
going  to  show  that  old  bomb-shell  that  he'd  got  a 
man  worth  having,  and  I  wasn't  going  to  stop  with 
him  either."  Ralph  paused  to  give  way  to  a 
reminiscent  chuckle. 

"Well!  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  those  moun 
tains  as  I  saw  them.  Talk  about  taking  the  starch 
out  of  a  man!  Why,  Captain,  you  could  have 
wadded  me  up  and  drawn  me  through  a  finger  ring 
like  one  of  those  Arabian  Nights  shawls.  There 
were  mountains  and  mountains,  and  gulches  and 
gulches,  precipices  and  canons,  and  rushing,  yelp 
ing  torrents  that  I  was  to  lead  over  them,  or 
through  them  or  around  them,  and  the  old  man 
hadn't  given  me  a  suggestion  that  I  could  hang  a 
guess  on.  The  more  I  thought,  the  more  scared  I 
got.  I  put  up  a  stiff  front,  or  tried  to  before  my 

138 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

men,  but  all  the  time  I  imagined  them  laughing  at 
me,  or  cursing  me  for  making  them  wade  that  strip 
of  ice  water,  or  break  their  shins  dragging  a  chain 
over  the  slippery  rocks.  I  was  thankful  when  the 
sun  went  down,  but  that  didn't  last  long.  Even  in 
my  sleep  I  saw  those  mountains  jiggering  and 
grinning.  They  moved  into  places  that  I  had 
picked  out  for  my  line,  and  away  from  them  when 
I  had  abandoned  it.  I  stood  it  for  a  week,  then  I 
poured  out  my  woes  in  a  long  letter  to  my  chief  and 
sent  it  out  by  a  special  messenger." 

Ralph  again  paused.  The  old  man  waited  for  a 
moment. 

"Well?"   he  asked. 

"In  a  week  my  answer  came.  Just  five  sen 
tences.  'You  are  going  at  your  work  the  wrong 
way.  You  are  asking  it  questions.  By  and  by 
your  work  will  ask  you  questions.  Then  you're 
getting  on.  Keep  at  it.'  ' 

"And  the  line?"  persisted  Uncle  Sid. 

"Oh,  the  line?  I  made  the  profile  and  sent  it  in. 
My  old  man  came  up  and  looked  it  over.  lie  was 
in  a  hurry  as  usual.  'Yon  have  laid  out  the  line; 
now  go  ahead  and  build  it',  then  he  was  off." 

"You  built  it?" 

Y.-x  after  a  fashion.  It  helped  to  wash  the  gold 
out  of  the  Yuba  river  sand  till  the  anti-debris  laws 
headed  it  off.  Then  I  came  down  here." 

139 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"How  did  you  happen  to  hit  in  with  Elijah 
Berl?" 

"He  was  the  only  man  in  Southern  California 
who  was  doing  anything  that  was  worth  while." 

"Yes,  it  is  worth  while."  Uncle  Sid  brought 
down  his  open  hand  upon  his  knee  with  a  resound 
ing  slap.  Then  he  laid  his  hand  on  Ralph's  with 
emphasizing  beats,  looking  earnestly  into  his  face. 
"Don't  you  let  go,  either,  or  it  won't  be  worth 
shucks. ' ' 

Ralph  returned  the  Captain's  earnest  look. 

"I'll  hang  on,"  he  answered  briefly. 

"That's  right.  You  stick  to  it.  You  an'  Helen 
Lonsdale  are  goin'  to  make  this  thing  go,  if  it's  a 
goin'." 

"I  think  I  appreciate  what  Helen  is  doing  as 
well  as  what  Elijah  has  done;  she's  the  life  of  the 
whole  business." 

Uncle  Sid  appeared  to  take  up  Ralph's  words. 
Then  he  changed  his  mind,  speaking  reminiscently. 

"I've  known  'Lige  Berl  ever  since  he  was  so 
high  an'  before."  Uncle  Sid  measured  Elijah's 
former  height  with  his  hand.  "He's  a  queer  mix 
ture.  He  was  always  a  mixture  of  ideas  an'  prayer 
meetin's  an'  the  flesh  pots  of  Egypt.  You  can't 
no  more  help  commendin'  his  prayer-meetin'  moods 
than  you  can  help  cussin'  his  lickin'  the  flesh  pots. 
He  ain't  changed  a  bit  out  here.  He'll  just  look 
at  you  with  his  eyes  wide  open  an'  you'll  feel  like 

140 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

a  man  that's  just  got  religion  an'  you  won't  sus 
pect  that  he's  picked  your  pocket  till  you  put  your 
hand  in  to  pay  your  grocer's  bill." 

Ralph  smiled  grimly. 

"There's  not  much  profit  in  talking  about  this. 
But— well,  you  know  'Lige  all  right." 

"Wait  a  minute,  I  ain't  through."  Uncle  Sid's 
eyes  were  fixed  on  Ralph  like  a  steel  needle  point 
ing  to  a  magnet.  "Money's  the  root  of  evil,  but 
there's  a  power  of  good  in  the  roots  if  they're  used 
right.  I've  got  quite  a  bunch  of  the  roots  handy. 
You're  goin'  to  need  them,  an'  young  man,  they're 
at  your  call  when  you  say  so,  an'  if  I  ain't  mis 
taken,  it  won't  be  long  either." 

"Thank  you."  Ralph  answered  briefly.  "I'll  re 
member." 

The  Captain  did  not  drop  his  eyes,  but  they  soft 
ened. 

"You've  known  Helen  Lonsdale  for  a  long  time, 
haven't  you?" 

"Ever  since  she  was  a  little  girl." 

"An'  you're  a   friend  of  hers?" 

"Yes."  Ralph  did  not  say  how  much  more  than 
a  friend  she  was  coming  to  be  to  him. 

Uncle  Sid  felt  the  repellent  air  of  Ralph's 
changed  mood  more  than  his  rather  curt  reply,  but 
he  held  doggedly  to  his  point. 

"Smallpox  is  a   mighty  mean  disease  an'  you 

141 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

don't  always  know  that  you're  a  catchin'  it  till  it 
breaks  out." 

Ralph  rose  to  his  feet.  Uncle  Sid  was  breaking 
ground  that  he  had  thought  about,  but  which  he 
had  not  yet  brought  himself  to  touch. 

1  'Helen  has  always  been  able  to  take  care  of  her 
self  and  I  don't  think  she  will  allow  any  one  to 
suggest  that  she  can't  do  it  now." 

Uncle  Sid  was  on  his  feet  too,  his  hand  on 
Ralph's  shoulder. 

"Helen's  a  woman,  Ralph.  I  don't  know  much 
about  women,  but  I  do  know  that  a  man  like  'Lige 
Berl  and  a  woman  like  Helen  Lonsdale  is  a  mighty 
dangerous  mixture,  an'  the  woman's  bound  to  get 
the  worst  of  it.  Helen's  goin'  to  need  friends 
who'll  stand  by  her,  an'  I  guess  when  you  think  it 
over,  you'll  agree  with  me." 

Ralph  made  no  reply,  but  he  did  as  the  Captain 
had  said  he  would  do.  He  thought  it  over  and  the 
seed  did  not  fall  on  stony  or  barren  ground. 


142 


CHAPTER  FOURTEEN 

The  coming  of  Mrs.  MacGregor  was  a  turning 
point  in  Elijah's  life.  In  the  New  England  com 
munity  where  he  had  been  born  and  reared,  the 
family  of  Eunice  MacGregor  had  stood  first,  and 
now  in  California,  circumstances  had  already  paved 
the  way  for  the  hold  which  she  was  to  have  upon 
him.  Much  as  he  had  despised  the  boomers  and 
their  methods,  as  exemplified  in  the  handling  of 
Ysleta  lots,  when  he  came  to  dwell  among  the  ma 
nipulators,  familiarity  with  the  men  had  modified 
and  finally  all  but  eliminated  this  feeling.  In 
Ysleta,  Elijah's  scheme,  for  so  it  was  regarded, 
was  looked  upon  as  a  fairly  shrewd  move  in  the 
speculative  field.  When  the  Las  Cruces  Company 
was  formed  and  work  on  the  great  Sangre  de 
Cristo  dam  and  canal  was  actually  begun,  they  saw 
Elijah  only  as  they  saw  themselves,  a  schemer  after 
unearned  money.  In  the  end,  Elijah  came  to  be 
regarded  as  a  smooth,  shrewd  man  who  possessed 
qualities  worthy  of  a  better  cause. 

The  duties  which  had  compelled  Elijah  to  make 
his  headquarters  in  Ysleta,  had  also  compelled  a 
more  intimate  association  with  the  men  of  the  town. 

143 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

He  was  consulted  as  to  their  plans  and  indirectly 
encouraged  in  his  own.  He  never  for  a  moment 
dreamed  that  his  surroundings  were  insidiously 
dangerous,  or  that  his  associates  were  infected  with 
a  moral  dry  rot,  more  to  be  feared  than  a  running 
sore.  These  men  were  engaged  in  buying  and  sell 
ing.  They  bought  with  the  expectation  of  selling 
for  more  than  they  gave.  Ysleta  was  growing. 
He  who  bought  today  could  sell  tomorrow  at  a  big 
advance,  or  the  day  after  at  a  still  greater.  To  be 
sure  there  were  chances  of  failure,  but  nothing  was 
certain.  Were  there  not  thousands  and  thousands 
of  persons  who  preferred  to  take  chances  with  the 
possibility  of  sudden  and  great  profit  ?  To  put  it 
at  its  worst,  if  fools  had  money  which  they  were 
bound  to  get  rid  of,  might  not  Ysleta  furnish  the 
opportunity  as  well  as  the  next  place?  This  was 
the  dry  rot  which  was  infecting  Elijah. 

Day  by  day,  almost  hour  by  hour  the  possibilities 
of  his  scheme  grew  upon  him.  There  were  thou 
sands  upon  thousands  of  acres  of  land,  still  barren 
and  worthless,  that  needed  only  water  to  make  them 
fertile  as  the  gardens  of  the  gods.  There  were 
other  streams  fed  by  the  melting  snows  of  the  San 
Bernardinos,  that  rushed  and  roared  among  the 
mountains;  only  to  be  swallowed  up  by  the  dry 
sands  of  the  desert  in  summer,  or  to  tear  a  desolate 
and  desolating  path  in  the  early  spring.  The  idea 
of  impounding  the  floods  in  the  mountain  recesses 

144 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

was  his  own;  if  not  strictly  his  own,  then  his  own 
by  right  of  first  demonstration.  These  lands  were 
valueless  as  they  were.  If  he  could  only  gain  them, 
bring  water  to  them,  plant  them  with  fruit  trees, 
what  might  they  not  bring  him  ?  Honor  above  the 
highest,  wealth  beyond  the  greatest,  would  be  his. 
He  had  made  a  beginning.  The  great  Sangre  de 
Cristo  dam  was  almost  a  fact;  only  a  few  more 
cubic  yards  of  stone  and  mortar,  then  the  gates 
would  be  closed  and  the  reservoir  begin  to  fill. 
Even  now  ditches  were  being  cut  to  lead  water  to 
his  fields,  thousands  of  trees  were  on  his  ranch 
ready  to  be  transplanted. 

He  had  made  a  beginning,  but  what  a  paltry  one 
in  the  face  of  possibilities.  There  was  the  Pico 
ranch.  Even  that  was  not  paid  for.  When  paid 
for,  how  was  it  to  be  developed?  The  company 
had  the  water;  he  had  the  land.  The  land  was 
worthless  without  the  water.  They  could  wait;  he 
couldn't.  He  was  president  of  the  company;  but 
he  was  powerless.  lie  raged  at  the  idea.  A  thought 
occurred  to  him  and  it  grew  in  strength.  The  com 
pany  owed  its  existence  to  him;  in  some  way  it 
should  make  acknowledgment.  He  needed  money. 
Hi-  thought  of  the  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  his 
privnti-  box  in  the  company's  vault.  He  had  in 
tended  to  deposit  it  in  San  Francisco,  but  one  thing 
after  another  had  prevented.  Was  it  providential  T 
The  Pacific  bank  had  failed.  In  their  statements 

145 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

fifty  thousand  dollars  was  unaccounted  for.  The 
company 's  pass-book  was  again  in  the  office ;  but  it 
did  not  show  a  balance  within  fifty  thousand  dol 
lars.  Mellin  and  himself  were  the  only  ones  who 
knew  why.  The  company  owed  more  to  him  than 
he  would  ever  receive,  beside,  he  himself  was  a 
heavy  stockholder,  and  he  had  a  perfect  right  to 
do  what  he  would  with  his  own.  Still,  his  way  was 
not  clear.  Fifty  thousand  dollars  was  not  enough. 
Without  more,  what  he  had  was  useless.  He  would 
wait.  If  he  failed  to  raise  the  money,  this  would  be 
a  sign  to  him  that  his  course  was  not  approved. 

Since  his  first  meeting  with  Mrs.  MacGregor  and 
Uncle  Sid,  Elijah  had  sought  out  Mrs.  MacGregor 
and  she  had  artfully  made  this  easy  for  him.  In 
these  interviews,  she  had  skilfully  drawn  from  him 
the  story  of  his  life  in  California,  his  present  con 
dition  and  his  future  hopes.  She  was  daily  con 
vinced  of  her  wisdom  in  seeking  out  Elijah.  There 
yet  remained  the  pleasing  task  of  benefiting  herself 
by  her  wisdom. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  was  an  intellectual  woman.  She 
had  not  been  born  that  way;  she  had  deliberately 
achieved  it.  Nature  had  denied  her  personal 
charms.  Her  forehead  was  high  and  broad,  and  no 
amount  of  coaxing  was  sufficient  to  induce  her 
straight,  black  hair  to  drape  itself  in  a  graceful 
suggestion  of  a  Psychic  brow.  Being  denied  Psyche, 

146 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

she  boldly  assumed  Minerva  and  bent  her  energies 
toward  living  the  part. 

In  her  youth,  women's  colleges  were  not,  and 
even  if  they  had  been,  the  straitened  circum 
stances  of  the  rural  lawyer  whose  misfortune  it 
was  to  be  her  father,  would  have  denied  her  the 
privileges  they  offered.  Having  exhausted  the 
fount  of  wisdom  whose  waters  were  curbed  by  the 
local  female  seminary,  she  turned  on  her  father 
with  the  filial  affection  of  youthful  arachnids,  who 
upon  being  hatched  into  life,  suck  their  parent  dry 
and  then  leave  the  useless  skeleton  and  strike  out 
into  their  individual  careers.  Under  his  tuition, 
she  learned  to  translate  Virgil,  to  construe  Homer 
and  to  solve  equations  in  a  way  that  filled  his  har 
rowed  soul  with  pride.  She  mastered  the  seductive 
syllogisms  of  Plato  and  Socrates,  descended  on 
Kant  and  gaining  confidence,  began  on  her  own 
account  to  rattle  the  dry  bones  of  scholastic  phi 
losophy  till  their  rhythmic  clatter  suggested  the 
wisdom  that  close  attention  denied. 

Eunice  mated  with  another  aspiring  soul.  This 
other  was  a  brilliant  alumnus  from  one  of  the  lead 
ing  New  England  universities.  He  was  poetic  and 
soulful ;  but  at  the  same  time  erratic  and  uncer 
tain.  These  latter  attributes  were  even  more  pro 
nounced  after  the  marriage  than  before.  Eunice 
had  deliberately  cut  him  out  from  the  bunch,  to 
use  the  vaquero's  expression,  and,  to  continue  the 

147 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

figure,  had  adroitly  roped  him.  The  roping  in  had 
resulted  very  shortly  in  mutual  disenthralment. 
The  result  was  frequent  and  prolonged  separa 
tions,  on  which  occasion,  each  went  his  own  way. 
Eunice,  on  her  part,  enjoyed  a  satisfaction  which 
was  ever  present.  She  used  the  "Mrs."  as  a  kind 
of  letter  of  marque  which  enabled  her  to  make 
piratical  descents  upon  society  in  general  in  a  man 
ner  which  would  not  be  tolerated  in  the  more  at 
tractive  but  often  compromising  "Miss." 

She  sought  the  acquaintance  of  professors,  judges 
and  governors  in  her  own  country,  and  gilded  titles 
in  foreign  lands. 

It  was  in  one  of  her  earlier  cruises  in  foreign 
waters  that  Mrs.  MacGregor  had  captured  her  most 
valuable  prize.  In  a  secluded  Swiss  port,  she  had 
run  across  a  wealthy  widow  whose  husband  had 
come  thither  in  search  of  health  and  had  unfor 
tunately  lost  his  life  in  a  mountain  climbing  acci 
dent.  Mrs.  Telford  was  overawed  by  the  irre 
sistible  armament  of  the  designing  Eunice  and 
had  surrendered  unconditionally.  Her  health  was 
feeble  and  on  her  deathbed  she  had  entrusted  her 
orphaned  daughter  as  well  as  her  daughter's  for 
tune  to  the  guardianship  of  Eunice  MacGregor. 
This  proved  a  most  acceptable  trust  to  Eunice.  In 
the  first  place,  it  made  her  financially  independent 
of  her  husband,  and  in  the  second  place,  it  gave 
her  the  opportunity  to  exercise  the  talent  in  the 

148 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

proper  rearing  and  training  of  a  child,  which  the 
Lord  in  his  infinite  wisdom  has  denied  to  mothers 
and  has  bestowed  in  such  unstinted  measure  upon 
those  to  whom  motherhood  has  been  denied. 

Her  ward  developed  ideas  with  the  years  that 
came  to  her.  She  saw  clearly  the  more  glaring  de 
fects  of  Mrs.  MacGregor's  character,  but  never 
suspecting  dishonesty,  she  left  to  her  guardian  the 
stewardship  of  her  large  fortune.  She  regarded 
it  as  an  easy  way  of  discharging  a  debt  and  en 
abling  Mrs.  MacGregor  to  receive  as  a  stipend  what 
she  might  hesitate  to  accept  as  a  gift. 

On  her  part,  Mrs.  MacGregor  had  taken  full 
measure  of  her  maturing  ward.  She  knew  that 
sooner  or  later,  marriage  was  a  certainty  and  that 
with  marriage  her  stewardship  would  cease.  She 
was,  therefore,  casting  about  her  to  make  the  most 
of  her  tenure  of  office.  She  had  heard  of  Elijah's 
success  in  California  and  her  heart  was  profoundly 
moved.  She  quickly  became  convinced  that  Cali 
fornia  was  the  opportunity  for  which  she  had  so 
long  and  anxiously  waited,  and  to  California  she 
accordingly  betook  herself  accompanied,  somewhat 
to  her  surprise,  by  Uncle  Sid.  Mrs.  MacGregor  was 
not  wholly  pleased  with  the  idea  of  being  accom 
panied  by  her  nautical  brother;  but  then — who  of 
us  is  unhampered  by  undesirable  relatives? 

Mrs.  MacGregor's  veiled  advances  to  Elijah  were 
rapidly  having  the  effect  which  her  designing  mind 

149 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

had  forecast;  more  and  more  he  was  coming  to 
lean  upon  her;  more  and  more  ho  was  coming  to  be 
guided  by  her. 

Perhaps  he  was  not  conscious  that  an  engage 
ment  to  meet  and  talk  over  business  matters  with 
Mrs.  MacGregor,  was  shaping  his  meditations  with 
regard  to  the  fifty  thousand  dollars  concealed  in  his 
private  box.  Perhaps  he  was  not  conscious  that 
he  was  proposing  to  do  what  he  knew  to  be  wrong 
and  then,  if  things  went  against  him,  to  say,  as 
did  our  common  ancestor,  "The  woman  tempted 
me." 

As  he  drove  up  to  the  Rio  Vista  on  the  day  of 
his  engagement  with  Mrs.  MacGregor,  Elijah  was 
placid  under  his  old  refuge.  In  the  progress  of  his 
day  he  would  be  guided.  Unfortunately  for  Elijah, 
in  the  progress  of  her  day,  Mrs.  MacGregor  would 
guide.  She  was  a  human  pirate,  pure  and  simple. 
In  her  piratical  cruises,  she  flew  any  pennon  which 
policy  dictated,  while  Elijah  took  refuge  under  let 
ters  of  marque. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  shrugged  her  shoulders  gently 
as  she  took  her  place  beside  Elijah  and  threw  a 
suggestive  backward  glance  at  the  Rio  Vista. 

"I  think  it  is  wonderful  that  you  have  passed 
through  such  fires  with  no  smell  of  smoke  on  your 
garments.  * ' 

"If  you  could  see  what  I  have  seen,  it  would  not 
seem  so  wonderful. " 

150 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BKKL 

"But  I  have  seen,  and  it  only  increases  ray  won 
der.  You  might  have  accumulated  safely  in  weeks 
what  will  take  you  years  in  the  line  you  have 
chosen." 

Elijah  laughed.     It  was  a  gratified  laugh. 

"It  isn't  what  I  am  after.  These  boomers  are 
trying  to  give  nothing  the  appearance  of  some 
thing.  They  began  to  build  on  nothing;  I  am 
laying  a  foundation.  I  may  build  the  super-struc 
ture  or  I  may  not,  that  is  for  the  Lord  to  say ;  but 
on  my  foundation  the  future  of  this  part  of  Cali 
fornia  must  be  built. " 

"And  where  no  blade  of  grass  grew,  you  have 
made  a  paradise!  Your  modesty  may  call  it  acci 
dent,  but  I  call  it  a  design  which  has  been  given 
into  hands  willing  and  able  to  execute  it." 

Elijah  looked  thoughtful.  Mrs.  MacGregor's 
words  were  grateful  to  him,  but  they  were  wide  of 
his  purpose  just  now.  He  made  up  his  mind  to  a 
bold  plunge. 

"It  may  be  a  design,  but  others  now  see  not 
only  the  design,  but  its  possibilities  as  well." 
Elijah  hesitated  for  a  moment,  then  resumed  slow 
ly.  "It  may  be  that  I  have  blazed  the  way;  it 
sei-ms  to  me  that  I  have.  But  here  is  my  problem. 
Shall  I  n-st  content  with  having  bla/ed  tin-  way,  or 
shall  I  struggle  with  others  for  the  rewards?" 

Mrs.  MacGregor  did  not  hesitate. 

"I  have  often   thought   of   the  parable   of   the 

151 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

talents.  I  have  thought  of  another  bit  of  scripture 
that  is  not  a  parable.  'To  him  that  hath  shall  be 
given,  and  from  him  that  hath  not  shall  be  taken 
even  that  which  he  hath.'  " 

"You  think  then,  that  I  have  no  right  to  rest 
on  what  I  have  done,  or  rather,  that  I  ought  to 
finish  what  I  have  undertaken?" 

"Most  assuredly. " 

Elijah  felt  solid  ground  beneath  his  feet.  There 
was  more  than  a  touch  of  pride  in  his  voice. 

"Do  you  know  that  my  every  word  is  snapped 
up ;  my  every  action  watched  by  those  sharks  ? "  he 
indicated  Ysleta  with  his  whip.  "If  I  should  point 
my  whip  to  those  hills  to  which  I  am  pointing 
now,  they  would  snap  them  up  and  organize  an 
orange  growing  company."  Elijah  paused  and 
turned  his  eyes  to  Mrs.  MacGregor.  She  knew 
what  he  would  say,  but  she  preferred  to  let  him 
speak. 

"Well?" 

"They  would  do  by  this  as  they  have  done  by 
Ysleta." 

Mrs.  MacGregor  laughed. 

"Why  don't  you  take  them  then?" 

"Is  it  my  duty?  That  is  the  question  that  is 
troubling  me.  I  haven't  the  money  to  buy  them 
even  at  their  present  rates.  If  I  had,  my  way 
would  be  open." 

152 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BEIIL 

"Why  not  have  faith  that  the  way  will  open  in 
tin*  future  as  it  has  in  the  past?" 

Elijah  drew  himself  together. 

"I  am  going  to  tell  you  the  whole  thing,  then 
you  can  judge  me  as  you  will."  He  told  of  the 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  his  disposition  of  it,  the  fact 
that  the  pass-book  of  the  company  showed  a  balance 
unpaid  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  his  provisional 
deal  with  Pico.  He  hesitated  as  he  closed  the  re 
cital,  then  after  a  moment  he  concluded.  "This 
deal  with  Pico  must  be  decided  at  once.  Has  the 
way  opened?" 

.M is.  MacGregor  had  grasped  every  point.  When 
Elijah  ceased  speaking  her  answer  was  ready. 

"There  are  emergencies  in  life  so  fraught  with 
grave  possibilities  that  every  law  of  man,  I  might 
almost  say  of  God,  must  be  thrust  aside.  Every 
one  who  does  great  things,  must  at  times  do  doubt 
ful  ones.  That  is,  they  are  doubtful  to  eyes  un 
able  to  penetrate  the  future." 

Elijah  waited  to  make  sure  that  Mrs.  MacGregor 
had  finish. >d.  She  had  purposely  avoided  a  direct 
answer.  Thh  d'd  not  suit  him.  His  eyes  shone 
hard  as  steel  through  his  half-closed  lids. 

"Am  I  justified  in  using  that  fifty  thousand?0 

Mrs.  MacGregor 's  lips  wt 

"In  my  opinion  you  an-." 

Elijah's  (jurstinn  had  not  surprised  her;  hut  sh«> 
inwardly  meuted  it.  II»'r  plan  had  been  to  d.-al 

153 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

out  generalities,  leaving  her  own  skirts  free.  She 
realized  that  he  had  gained  all  that  he  wanted 
from  her  and  had  given  her  nothing. 

4 'There  is  another  matter  that  has  troubled  me 
for  a  long  time,  Mrs.  MacGregor.  I  have  tried  to 
shut  my  eyes  to  it,  but  I  cannot.  I  can  see  great 
things  to  be  done  and  I  can  help  others  to  see,  but 
there  are  times  when  I  need  help ;  when  I  long  for 
human  sympathy,  intelligent  sympathy  that  can 
see  what  I  see,  that  can  have  faith  in  my  work, — " 
he  paused. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  was  watching  him  narrowly, 
every  sense  alert. 

' 'The  intelligent  sympathy  which  a  wife  may 
give,  but  which  Amy  cannot  ?"  It  was  a  daring 
forecast.  Mrs.  MacGregor  held  her  breath  in  spite 
of  herself. 

Elijah's  face  grew  drawn  and  white.  This  was 
the  first  time  that,  eilher  to  himself  or  to  another, 
he  had  stated  the  case  baldly.  Hitherto,  even  to 
himself,  he  had  decently  veiled  his  unholy  thoughts. 
The  appealing  eyes  of  his  wife  were  upon  him,  now 
that  he  was  striving  to  turn  his  own  away  from 
them.  He  had  not  imagined  that  it  would  be  so 
hard.  Even  the  eyes  of  Helen  Lonsdale  could  not 
comfort  him.  The  thought  of  what  he  was  clearing 
from  the  way,  in  order  to  look  into  them,  appalled 
him. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  prepared  to  sell  the  last  remnant 

154 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

of  her  soul  to  the  devil.  Upon  Helen  Lonsdale 
she  had  no  hold.  She  had  noted  the  girl's  interest 
in  Elijah,  an  interest  of  which  the  girl  herself  was 
unconscious.  If  now,  she  cleared  Helen's  path  of 
obstructions,  would  not  she  win  her  gratitude? 
Slowly  and  deliberately,  she  spoke. 

"You  never  loved  Amy  Eltharp.  The  woman 
whom  you  could  love,  who  could  return  a  love  as 
deep  and  lasting  as  your  own  is  separated  from 
you.  You  are  paying  the  penalty  of  your  mistake. 
Amy  is  paying  for  it,  even" — she  paused,  then 
went  on  without  a  quaver, — "even  as  Helen  Lons 
dale  is  paying  for  it." 

Elijah  was  as  one  stricken.  For  a  long  time  he 
remained  silent.  Mrs.  MacGregor  watched  him 
narrowly.  He  was  striving  to  do  justice  to  himself 
and  to  his  better  nature,  but  the  habit  of  years 
Wtt  strong  upon  him.  He  had  strayed  into  a 
tempting  path  without  definite  thought  as  to  where 
it  would  lead  either  himself  or  others.  He  had 
compared  Helen  Lonsdale  with  his  wife;  his  life 
that  might  have  been  with  Helen,  with  his  life  that 
was  with  Amy.  Mrs.  MacGregor 's  words  had  de 
nned  his  position  clearly  and  sharply.  In  inno 
cence,  he  could  go  no  farther.  From  now  on,  he 
must  act  decisively  and  with  full  knowledge  of 
what  his  actions  meant.  At  last  he  spoke,  as  one 
broken  on  a  wh»-< -1. 

155 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Don't  torture  me  any  longer.  Tell  me  what 
you  mean." 

"I  want  to  save  you  from  yourself.  You  have 
made  a  mistake.  You  have  had  a  loveless  life. 
You  married  weakness  where  you  needed  strength. 
You  married  selfishness,  where  you  needed  unsel 
fishness,  devoted  sympathy.  You  have  fled  to  a 
common  refuge;  you  have  sought  in  a  mistress  all 
that  you  have  lacked  in  a  wife." 

Elijah  burst  out  furiously. 

"Helen  Lonsdale  is  not  that!  She  is  as  pure  as 
sunlight." 

"You  cannot  make  her  your  wife;  she  knows 
that  as  well  as  you  do.  You  are  walking  in  a  path 
the  end  of  which  is  certain." 

Elijah  made  no  immediate  reply.  His  reason  told 
him  the  end  of  Mrs.  MacGregor's  logic,  but  he 
weakly  demanded  that  she  should  point  the  way. 

"There  is  then  only  one  thing  to  do?" 

"On  the  contrary,"— Mrs.  MacGregor  spoke 
sharply,  for  she  was  losing  patience,— "there  are 
three  courses  open  to  you.  You  can  go  on  as  you 
are  going  and  the  end  is  ruin.  Ruin  to  Helen,  ruin 
to  Amy,  ruin  to  your  work,  ruin  to  yourself.  You 
can  break  off  your  relations  with  Helen  Lonsdale 
and  go  back  to  your  old  life;  your  life  as  it  was 
before  Helen  entered  it.  Or-—  '  She  paused,  as  one 
who  could  £0  farther,  but  would  not. 
Iff 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

' '  What  ? ' '  Elijah  breathed  the  word  rather  than 
spoke  it." 

Mrs.  MacGregor  answered  as  one  wearied  with 
a  hopeless  burden. 

"The  laws  of  the  world  recognize  the  fact  that 
the  purest  impulses  of  man  are  often  mistaken. 
They  recognize  this  fact  and  have  provided  a  way 
of  separation." 

Elijah  made  no  reply.  They  drove  on  in  silence 
toward  his  ranch  where  Mrs.  MacGregor  was  to 
spend  a  few  days.  His  thought  wandered  from 
his  surroundings  back  to  the  clear  sunlight,  the 
bracing  air  of  his  old  New  England  home.  There 
was  peace  there;  the  peace  of  simple  lives  un 
touched  by  the  fierce  passions  of  the  throbbing 
world.  He  saw  Amy  Eltharp,  flaxen-haired,  blue- 
eyed,  walking  through  the  cool  woods,  her  hand 
in  his  own,  her  eyes  down-cast,  her  cheeks  delicately 
flushed,  as  her  trembling  lips  breathed  "yes"  in 
answer  to  his  passionate  words. 

Now  it  was  all  gone.  He  was  in  a  desert  land, 
burned  with  conflicting  emotions  as  fierce  as  the 
sun  that  beat  upon  the  sands  around  him. 

When  they  reached  the  ranch,  Amy  was  stand 
ing  in  the  rose-trellised  drive-way  to  welcome  tin-in. 
Fair  as  the  roses  that  surrounded  her,  she  stood 
with  anxious  eyes  raised  to  Elijah.  Her  purpose 
to  niak»»  herself  useful  to  Elijah,  was  yd  stmnir 
within  hrr.  Perhaps  this  fact  ti-niprn-d  for  h«T  tho 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

chill  of  Elijah's  absent-minded  response  to  her 
greeting.  She  was  feeding  her  heart  on  hope.  "A 
little  study,  a  little  practice  and  the  thing  is  done. ' ' 


158 


CHAPTER  FIFTEEN 

Amy  Berl  was  demonstrating  the  world-old 
truth,  that  love,  however  selfish,  ennobles  and  sof 
tens  the  life  into  which  it  enters.  With  feeble  brain 
but  loving  heart,  she  was  working  out  for  herself 
the  truth  that  love  which  feeds  on  sensuous  beauty 
or  sensuous  passion  alone,  dies  the  death  of  the 
brute ;  that  the  love  which  is  born  not  to  die,  must 
drink  deeper  and  ever  deeper  with  the  passing 
years  at  the  fountain  of  eternal  youth;  that  to  a 
love  thus  thirst-quenched,  every  gray  hair  that 
marks  a  day  forever  gone,  every  wrinkle  on  flesh 
shrivelling  at  the  touch  of  time,  eyes  dimmed  with 
the  shedding  of  many  tears,  every  footstep  trem 
bling  with  the  passing  of  the  weary  milestones  of 
life,  are  bonds  which  the  fires  of  hell  cannot  melt, 
nor  the  peace  of  heaven  dissolve  away.  Amy  did 
not  know  it,  she  could  not  have  grasped  the  fact 
had  it  been  told  her,  that  she  was  laying  hold  of  the 
saving  element  of  life,  that  animated  as  she  had 
been  by  a  love  that  was  still  seeking  itself  alone, 
she  was  yet  nourishing  a  power  that  would  raise  her 
from  the  ashes  of  despair. 

Amy  had  not  forgotten  the  task  she  had  set  her- 

159 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

self.  She  had  obtained  "A  &  B's  Elements,"  and 
day  after  day,  she  was  striving  to  master  the  sim 
ple  problems  that  would  enable  her  to  take  Helen 
Lonsdale's  place  in  her  husband's  life.  The  com 
ing  of  Mrs.  MacGregor  had  not  interfered  with  her 
purpose,  nor  with  her  hours  of  study.  Through  the 
day,  Mrs.  MacGregor  and  Elijah  were  absent,  in 
specting  the  desolate  stretches  of  red  hillsides,  or 
the  struggling  green  of  seeping  springs  in  deep 
arroyos. 

Mrs.  MacGregor 's  plans  with  Elijah  were  shap 
ing  to  a  desired  end,  but, — there  was  an  uncertain 
element  which  she  could  not  resolve.  There  was 
no  lack  of  keen,  exact  penetration  in  Elijah;  but 
there  was  now  a  reticence  about  his  personal  feel 
ings  which  she  did  not  dare  openly  to  break.  In 
direct  openings  which  she  gave,  he  passed  by  with 
out  notice.  She  was  unable  to  decide  whether  his 
reticence  was  due  to  wounded  pride,  in  that  he  had 
been  betrayed  into  an  exhibition  of  the  inner  cham 
bers  of  his  heart,  or  whether  it  was  due  to  a  grow 
ing  resentment  of  her  attack  upon  Helen  Lons- 
dale.  Another  surmise  and  nearer  the  truth,  had 
she  known  it,  was  that  he  had  been  brought  face 
to  face  with  his  position  as  regarded  his  wife.  If 
Mrs.  MacGregor  had  been  sure  of  Elijah's  ultimate 
decision,  her  course  of  action  might  have  been  dif 
ferent.  As  it  was,  she  was  fairly  confident  that 
she  knew  every  element  in  Elijah,  and  that  sh»» 

160 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BEKL 

could  predicate  its  logical  end.  She  was  certain 
that  she  knew  Amy.  and  that  sooner  or  later  a  sep 
aration  would  come,  and  that  the  sooner  it  came, 
the  better  it  would  be  for  her  own  personal  de 
signs. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  soon  reached  another  conclusion 
which  she  regarded  as  final.  She  had  carefully 
studied  Amy  in  every  contact  with  Elijah.  She 
saw  in  her  every  attitude  before  him,  in  her  every 
word  to  him,  an  eager  assurance  of  confidence  and 
love  which  in  reality  was  an  evident  doubt  of  it, 
or  at  least  a  fear  for  it.  She  was  in  effect,  doing  in 
her  pitiful  way,  what  she  had  always  done,  mir 
roring  to  her  husband  every  phase  of  himself  which 
he  presented  to  her.  It  was  inert,  impersonal,  and, 
in  Elijah's  present  state  of  mind,  not  only  pas 
sively,  but  actively  exasperating  to  him.  It  wholly 
lacked  the  power  to  soothe,  much  less  to  inspire. 

It  was  several  days  after  Mrs.  MacGregor  had 
reached  her  conclusion  that  Amy  was  impossible, 
before  she  began  an  aggressive  campaign  against 
her. 

Elijah  had  been  called  to  Ysleta  and  had  gone 
alone.  Mrs.  MacGregor  had  been  invited  to  accom 
pany  him,  but  for  personal  reasons,  had  declined. 
HIT  ostensible  n-ason  was  that  he  had  kept  her  SO 
busy  that  she  had  had  no  time  in  which  to  give 
if  up  to  tin-  lu-autirs  <>f  his  placf. 

Poor  innocent    Amy1     Sin-  and   Mrs. 

161 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

were  seated  on  the  verandah.  Through  the  trem 
bling  leaves,  the  tempered  sunlight  filtered  and 
waltzed  to  and  fro,  in  dreamy,  peaceful  measures 
across  the  floor.  The  songs  of  many  birds,  the 
flutter  of  their  wings,  the  rustle  of  leaves,  these 
soothed  and  lulled  the  senses  to  a  restful  peace. 
There  is  nothing  like  it  in  the  world;  nowhere  but 
in  California,  newly  awakened.  The  rank  growth 
of  fruit  and  flower,  a  growth  roused  from  its  fiery 
sleep,  now  striving  in  a  day  to  make  up  for  ages 
of  helpless  bondage. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  was  sitting  with  her  hands 
folded  in  her  lap,  but  her  thoughts  were  busy.  At 
last  she  spoke. 

"Are  you  happy  in  California?" 

Amy  looked  up  in  unfeigned  surprise. 

"Why  shouldn't  I  be?" 

A  trained  diplomat  could  not  have  parried  the 
thrust  more  deftly.  Mrs.  MacGregor  looked  fixedly 
but  calmly  at  Amy.  Was  that  answer  accidental 
or  designed? 

"Because,"  she  spoke  deliberately,  "in  Cali 
fornia  there  is  not  a  single  thing  to  suggest  your 
New  England  home." 

"Except  Elijah."  Amy  did  not  look  up  this 
time.  She  was  taking  her  guest  and  her  words  as  a 
matter  of  course. 

"Haven't  you  noticed  any  change  in  Elijah?" 
;No-o."     Amy's   voice    faltered,    for    she   was 

162 


1 t 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

truthful.  She  was  wondering  if  it  was  wicked  to 
tell  this  lie.  It  did  not  occur  to  her  to  resent  the 
necessity  for  it. 

"It  would  not  be  strange  if  he  had  changed. 
California  has  changed,  is  changing.  Those  who 
come  here  must  change, — for  better  or  for  worse." 

"Elijah  could  not  change  for  worse/' 

Amy's  meaning  was  plain,  but  Mrs.  MacGregor 
smiled  at  her  words. 

"I  knew  Elijah  as  a  boy  and  as  a  young  man. 
Then  our  paths  diverged  for  six  years.  They  have 
come  together  again  and  I  am  astonished  at  the 
change.  He  was  strong,  but  his  strength  had  not 
found  a  worthy  purpose.  It  has  found  it  here." 

Amy  was  beginning  to  take  an  active  interest  in 
the  conversation. 

"Yes,  when  we  first  came  here,  the  people  laughed 
at  us.  Now,  Elijah  has  got  more  than  ten  thousand 
orange  trees  growing  where  no  one  thought  of  their 
Crowing.  People  are  after  him  all  the  time  now. 
He  is  «r<)inuf  to  brinir  water  to  thousands  of  acres  of 
desert  land." 

Mrs.  MacGregor  listened  impatiently  to  a  recital 
of  Elijah's  labors,  as  dreary  as  Homer's  catalogue 
of  ships. 

"Yes,  I  know.  Elijah  has  told  me  something  of 
this  and  I  have  seen  more.  His  strength  lias  found 
a  purpose.  He  has  done  a  pivat  work;  but  it  is 
only  a  beginning,  a  preparation  for  a  greater." 

163 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Mrs.  MacGregor  began  to  launch  forth  into  gen 
eralities.  "At  rare  intervals  in  the  progress  of  the 
world,  great  opportunities  arise  and  only  one  man 
who  is  equal  to  the  grasping  and  working  out  of 
the  opportunity.  Such  a  man,  we  call  a  genius. 
A  genius  transcends  the  limitations  of  his  fellows 
and  he  also  transcends  their  laws.  It  is  his  right ; 
he  cannot  work  without  it.  He  must  not  be  hin 
dered  or  obstructed.  At  whatever  cost  of  pain  to 
those  who  are  near  and  dear  to  him,  his  work  must 
go  on.  It  is  for  the  good  of  unknown  and  unnum 
bered  humanity;  humanity  is  everything,  indi 
viduals  do  not  count.  You  doubtless  have  thought 
of  all  this ;  possibly  have  decided  upon  your  course 
of  action.  The  question  is,  are  you  ready  to  sacri 
fice  yourself  even,  for  the  sake  of  Elijah's  work?" 

Amy  caught  eagerly  at  the  last  sentence  of  Mrs. 
MacGregor 's  words.  The  more  eagerly,  because 
they  were  the  only  words  that  had  to  her  the  slight 
est  meaning. 

"I  have  sacrificed  myself  and  I  have  never  com 
plained  once.  Not  even  when  we  were  traveling 
around  from  place  to  place  in  a  covered  wagon, 
and  sleeping  on  the  ground,  and  when  we  had  only 
oatmeal  to  eat  day  in  and  day  out;  not  even  wlini 
our  babies  were  sick  and  we  had  no  money  to  pay 
a  doctor.  I  was  afraid  they  were  going  to  die,  but 
Elijah  did  not  know;  he  was  busy  with  his  work. 
That  was  after  we  came  here,  and  I  never  told 

164 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

him."  Am£  did  not  look  up,  but  Mrs.  MacGregor 
was  watching  her.  From  under  the  veiling  lids,  she 
saw  the  tears  gather,  roll  across  the  pink  cheeks 
and  fall  on  the  work  in  her  lap.  Mrs.  MacGregor 
did  not  know,  perhaps  Amy  did  not,  whether  the 
tears  were  for  the  past  she  was  reciting,  or  for  the 
future  which  she  was  fearing.  Without  looking  up, 
she  drew  her  hand  across  her  eyes.  "I  don't  know 
why  I  am  telling  you  all  this.  I  have  never  told 
any  one  before ;  not  even  my  mother. ' ' 

Unflinchingly  Mrs.  MacGregor  turned  to  Amy. 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  you  have  done  your  duty 
so  far  as  you  have  seen  it;  but  here  is  the  point. 
Are  you  willing  to  make  further  sacrifices,  from 
your  standpoint,  the  supreme  sacrifice?" 

Amy's  mind  had  been  overstrained  in  an  effort 
to  follow  even  the  small  part  of  Mrs.  MacGregor 's 
words  that  was  at  all  intelligible  to  her;  there  was 
a  suggestion  of  petulance  in  her  reply. 

''There  is  no  need  of  any  more  sacrifice.  Just 
see."  She  pointed  through  the  roses  to  the  dark 
green  orange  trees  full  of  golden  fruit  which  cov 
ered  the  hillside  below  them.  "Elijah  has  no  need 
to  do  more.  He  has  enough  for  us  all  now.  Even 
if  h<>  should  leave  the  Water  Company,  he  would 
have  enough.  When  that  is  done,  he  will  come 
home  to  me  and  I  shall  hn\v  him  all  to  myself;  I 
and  the  children." 

"Elijah's   work   is  only  begun.      What    he   has 

165 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

done,  is  only  a  preparation  for  the  work  that  is  to 
be  done,  that  he  alone  can  do.  Nothing  must  stand 
in  his  way,  not  even  wife  and  children." 

Amy  answered  passionately. 

"He  has  done  enough!" 

Mrs.  MacGregor's  eyes  were  cold  and  merciless 
as  those  of  a  snake  watching  its  victim.  She  thought 
long  before  speaking.  She  was  conscious  that  there 
was  danger  in  handling  for  one's  own  purposes  a 
mind  so  feeble  and  hesitating  as  Amy's,  but  she 
must  make  the  attempt.  Should  she  rest  content 
with  having  instilled  the  subtle  poison  in  Amy's 
mind,  leaving  it  to  work  slowly  to  a  doubtful  end? 
Could  she  be  sure  that  it  would  do  its  work?  On 
the  other  hand,  to  one  of  Amy's  mental  caliber, 
would  the  plain,  brutal  statement,  stripped  of  am 
biguity,  be  more  than  a  suggestion?  In  this  latter 
course  there  lay  the  danger  that  Amy  would  grasp 
the  full  import  of  her  words  and  that  in  the  mental 
agony  that  would  surely  follow,  she  would  go  to 
Elijah  at  once.  Would  she  go  to  Elijah?  Mrs. 
MacGregor  felt  sure  that  she  would  not.  Weak  as 
Amy  was,  she  would  intuitively  feeL  the  hopeless 
ness  of  an  appeal  to  him.  Already  she  was  vaguely 
conscious  that  her  hold  upon  him  was  slight,  how 
slight  she  would  not  dare  to  put  to  the  test.  She 
would  not  openly  acknowledge  this  fear  to  herself, 
much  less  to  others,  least  of  all  to  Elijah.  She  had 
a  fixed  purpose  in  her  mind,  to  fit  herself  to  take 

166 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Helen's  place  and  upon  its  success  she  had  staked 
all.  To  abandon  her  secret  efforts  would  leave  her 
again  wandering,  wavering,  to  go  over  the  whole 
weary  ground  again.  Mrs.  MacGregor  made  her 
decision.  Her  voice  was  modulated,  almost  sym 
pathetic,  but  it  was  firm  and  decided. 

"No,  Amy,  he  has  not  done  enough.  You  have 
not  done  enough.  He  must  go  on.  He  must  give 
you  up.  You  must  give  him  up." 

Amy  sprang  from  her  chair.  Her  work  slipped 
from  her  lap  and  lay  huddled  at  her  feet.  Slowly, 
painfully,  the  meaning  of  Mrs.  MacGregor 's  words 
was  boring  into  her  brain.  Her  eyes  were  wide 
open,  pitifully  pleading,  like  the  eyes  of  a  shrink 
ing  victim  in  the  clutch  of  a  beast  of  prey.  Then 
they  changed  to  a  look  as  hard  and  resolute  as  her 
eyes  were  capable  of  expressing. 

"Give  up  Elijah?  I'll  never  give  up  Elijah. 
Never!  Never!  Never!"  Then  she  fled  through 
the  open  door. 

Mrs.  MacG regor  smiled  complacently.  '  *  Never, ' ' 
was  a  long  time.  She  had  steered  close  to  the  line, 
but  she  felt  that  she  had  won.  As  it  happened, 
chance  aided  her.  Had  Elijah  been  at  home,  in 
her  first  agony,  Amy  would  doubtless  have  gone  to 
him  and  have  risked  all  in  a  frantic  appeal.  But 
Elijah  was  away  and  it  was  late  before  he  returned. 
In  her  room,  Amy  sat  with  the  dumb  misery  of  a 
suffering  animal.  It  did  not  occur  to  her  to  rise 

167 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

up  in  righteous  wrath  against  the  brutal  woman 
who  had  inflicted  this  torture  upon  her,  much  less 
against  her  husband.  She  was  thinking  of  herself, 
of  her  happiness  that  had  been,  of  the  awful  fear 
that  was  consuming  her.  Justice  or  injustice  was 
far  from  her  thoughts.  In  bitter  desperation  she 
clung  to  the  feeble  purpose  that  she  had  fashioned 
for  her  salvation.  Gradually  this  purpose  regained 
its  hold  upon  her.  She  was  wasting  time  and  there 
was  none  to  lose.  Trembling  in  every  nerve  she 
hastened  from  her  room,  from  their  room,  and  with 
trembling  fingers  turned  the  pages  of  "A  &  B's 
Elements "  and  bent  herself  to  her  all  but  hope 
less  task.  With  quivering  lips  and  hard,  dry  eyes  she 
wrote  and  rewrote  the  problems  of  the  book  and 
strove  to  master  them.  She  was  unconscious  of 
time,  only  that  it  was  long  and  bitter.  The  magni 
tude  of  her  task  appalled  her,  the  hopelessness  of 
it  overwhelmed  her,  she  tried  to  hold  herself  to  it ; 
but  in  vain.  With  a  wailing  cry  she  buried  her 
head  in  her  arms  and  gave  way  to  the  tears  that 
at  last  came  to  her  relief. 

It  was  late  that  night  when  Elijah  returned. 
He  gave  his  horses  in  charge  of  the  sleepy  Mexican 
and  entered  the  house.  He  went  directly  to  their 
room,  but  Amy  was  not  there.  The  bed  was  un 
disturbed.  Elijah  passed  quietly  to  the  m-xt 
room.  It  was  Amy's  own.  A  light  softly  glowing 
beneath  the  door-sill  told  him  that  the  room  was 

168 


T1IK  VISION  OF  ELIJAH 

occupied.  He  opened  the  door  gently  and  stood  stiff 
ened,  immovable,  at  the  sight  before  him.  Amy  was 
s.at.d  at  her  little  work-table.  A  shaded  lamp 
thivw  its  full  liurht  upon  her  head,  resting  upon  her 
outstretched  arms.  Her  face  was  turned  toward 
him;  the  liirht  showed  lids,  red  and  tear-stained. 
Near  one  outstretched  hand  was  a  pencil,  fallen 
from  the  sleep -loosened  fingers.  There  was  a  worn 
book  lying  open,  surrounded  by  loose  papers. 
Elijah  moved  softly  toward  the  table.  He  picked 
up  the  book.  It  was  "A  &  B's  Elements."  The 
tear-blotched  papers  were  covered  with  figures. 
Elijah  replaced  the  book  and  papers.  Like  a  flash 
the  whole  explanation  of  the  open  book,  and  the 
figure-covered  papers  came  to  him.  His  eyes  were 
upon  the  bowed  head,  upon  the  baby  lips  moving 
pathetically  in  their  troubled  sleep.  His  guardian 
anLfl  was  pleading  hard  within  him.  With  wide- 
open,  motionless  eyes  he  bent  forward,  his  hands 
outstretched,  his  foot  lifted  to  take  the  step  that 
would  redeem  him.  Then  his  hands  fell  slowly  to 
his  side;  he  straiulitened  and  turned  away  abruptly. 
As  softly  as  he  had  entered  the  room,  so  softly  he 
left  it. 


169 


CHAPTER  SIXTEEN 

Elijah  had  no  difficulty  in  securing  options  on 
the  land  which  he  and  Mrs.  MacGregor  had  selected. 
They  had,  however,  underestimated  the  apathy  of 
the  Mexican  owners,  who,  while  perfectly  willing  to 
give  options  with  no  preliminary  payments,  were 
adamant  as  to  the  length  of  time  to  which  the  op 
tions  should  be  extended. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  smiled  reassuringly  upon  Elijah 
when  he  had  stated  his  difficulty. 

"The  time  is  ample.  I  have  some  means  at  my 
command." 

Elijah  asked  no  questions  and  she  tendered  no  ex 
planations.  When,  however,  the  time  passed  by  and 
the  deeds  came  to  be  actually  transferred,  his  un 
asked  questions  were  answered.  Not  a  cent  of  the 
money,  not  a  single  negotiable  paper  which  went 
into  the  preliminary  payments,  was  in  Eunice  Mac 
Gregor  's  name,  except  that  as  by  power  of  attorney, 
she  had  acted  for  her  absent  ward.  Elijah,  remem 
bering  his  transactions  with  the  Pacific  bank,  could 
say  nothing. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  had  only  one  more  obstacle  to 
overcome.  At  first,  as  guardian,  later  as  trusted 

170 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

financial  agent,  with  full  power  of  attorney,  she 
could  manage  her  ward 's  fortune  as  she  would ;  but 
at  any  time  this  power  might  be  dissolved  and  she 
be  called  to  a  full  accounting.  This  done,  and  it 
was  a  continual  menace,  Mrs.  MacGregor  would  be 
in  no  position  either  to  take  or  to  demand  a  share 
in  her  ward's  investments.  She  proposed  to  remain 
in  this  doubtful  position  just  as  short  a  time  as  pos 
sible.  A  deed  to  a  property  bought  with  her  ward's 
money,  would  leave  no  scattering  crumbs  which 
she  could  gather  for  herself.  With  the  deed  made 
over  to  a  company,  the  case  would  be  different. 
Her  ward's  money  would  in  this  case,  lose  its  iden 
tity.  A  ten  per  cent  interest  in  a  capitalization  of 
two  millions,  could  be  balanced  with  two  hundred 
thousand  of  its  stock  at  par,  and  leave  Elijah  and 
Mrs.  MacGregor  to  repay  themselves  for  their  ef 
forts.  This  was  earnestly  talked  over  between  the 
two.  Elijah  was  not  at  all  easy  in  his  mind;  but 
he  could  say  nothing.  He  had  tried ;  but  he  was  no 
match  for  Mrs.  MacGregor 's  polished  logic. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  not  only  made  no  objections  to 
including  Helen  Lonsdale  in  their  arrangements, 
but  had  on  the  contrary,  kept  her  interests  a  promi 
nent  figure  in  their  transactions.  She  had  no  ques 
tion  but  that  in  this  way  she  would  bind  Helen 
closely  to  herself. 

"Look  at  the  facts  squarely,"  said  Mrs.  Mac 
Gregor  to  Elijah.  "Your  supply  of  water  is  almost 

171 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BEKL 

here.  There  is  only  a  small  hill  between  the  main 
canal  of  the  Las  Cruces  and  us.  A  few  thousand 
dollars  will  tunnel  the  mountain.  A  few  thou 
sand  more  will  take  the  water  within  reach  of  every 
hundred  acres.  AVe  have  given  three  hundred  thou 
sand  dollars  for  this  land.  Even  at  fifty  dollars 
an  acre,  it  is  worth  ten  million  dollars.  My  ward's 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars  will  grow  to  one 
million  dollars.  Isn't  that  a  justification  for  you 
and  me  as  well?" 

Elijah  shook  his  head. 

"If  it  should  fail?" 

"If,"  Mrs.  MacGregor  emphasized  the  conjunc 
tion,  "is  one  of  the  first  steps  toward  failure.  You 
could  go  to  Ysleta  tomorrow,  and  sell  this  whole 
property,  as  it  stands,  for  twice  the  amount  we 
have  paid  down  for  it,  even  including  the  mortgage 
of  one  hundred  thousand." 

Elijah  was  thinking  aloud. 

"With  your  four  hundred  thousand,  you  could 
repay  your  ward  in  full.  You  and  I  would  then 
have  one  hundred  thousand  each.  I  could,—  '  he 
paused  and  then  the  words  shot  forth,  "replace  the 
fifty  thousand  I  borrowed,  and  be  a  free  man." 

Elijah  and  Mrs.  MacGregor  were  being  enlight 
ened  as  to  each  other.  Mrs.  MacGregor  had  not 
thought  to  have  Elijah  lean  so  heavily  upon  her ;  he 
had  never  supposed  her  to  be  so  cold  and  heartlessly 
unprincipled. 

172 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 


4  » 


\\  •  are  coming  to  no  conclusion  as  to  our  next 
move."  Mrs.  MacGregor  spoke  with  polite  impa 
tience. 

"What  do  you  propose?" 

"\Ve  must  organize  a  company." 

"But  we  have  no  charter." 

4 '  We  can  get  one. ' ' 

"It  will  take  time." 

"We  can  make  it  as  short  as  possible." 

The  matter  of  the  charter  was  dropped  for  a  time, 
to  be  discussed  at  intervals  during  the  days  that 
followed;  but  no  conclusion  was  reached.  Mrs. 
MacGregor  was  scheming;  Elijah  waiting  for  guid 
ance.  The  guidance  came,  though  not  in  the  way 
Elijah  would  have  chosen ;  but  he  was  yet  to  learn 
that  when  we  make  our  conditions,  guidance  is  cer 
tain  to  come  in  the  form  of  a  dilemma  with  an  im 
perative  choice. 

As  Mrs.  MacGregor  and  Elijah  were  again  seated 
on  the  verandah  and  again  discussing  ways  and 
means,  a  wagon  stopped  at  the  door,  and  from  it 
alighted  a  brisk,  self-sure  man.  He  walked  up  the 
path,  with  a  jaunty  air  and  stopped  at  the  foot 
of  the  verandah  strpv 

"Hello,  Berl,"  he  called  out.  "Fine  place,  this." 

Klijah  felt  an  involuntary  tightening  around  his 
In-art  as  he  recoirni/ed  Mellin,  the  ex-cashier  of  the 
Pacific  bank.  lit  ivtunn-d  the  invetiiiLr,  at  the 
same  time  risinir. 

178 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Come  up  and  have  a  chair." 

Mellin  tipped  his  hat  back  on  his  head,  strode  up 
the  steps,  and  seating  himself,  spread  his  legs  wide 
apart,  and  leaning  forward  with  hands  loosely 
clasped,  rested  his  elbows  on  his  knees. 

"Mrs.  MacGregor,  Mr.  Mellin,"  Elijah  waved  his 
hand  from  one  to  the  other. 

"Pleased  to  know  you,  Mrs.  MacGregor.  From 
the  East,  I  take  it?"  Mr.  Mellin  revolved  his  head 
jerkily  toward  his  newly  made  acquaintance,  end 
ing  with  a  decided  bob. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  bowed  slightly  in  return,  but 
vouchsafed  no  word. 

Mellin  revolved  his  head  toward  Elijah,  at  the 
same  time  glancing  at  his  watch  which  he  clicked 
together  and  returned  to  his  pocket. 

"I  came  to  see  you  on  a  little  business  matter, 
Berl;  can  I  have  a  few  minutes?" 

Upon  this  blunt  hint  that  she  was  not  wanted, 
Mrs.  MacGregor  rose  calmly  and  swept  through  the 
open  door. 

Mr.  Mellin  drew  a  huge,  black  cigar  from  his 
pocket,  and  between  initial  puffs,  outlined  his  busi 
ness. 

"Hear  you've  been  taking  up  a  little  land  deal  on 
your  own  account  ? ' '  The  cigar  was  well  under  way 
now  and  Mr.  Mellin  braced  himself  upright  with 
one  hand  on  the  arm  of  his  chair.  His  face  was  full 
on  Elijah  with  a  cunning  look. 

174 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Yes,"  Elijah  answered  briefly. 

''You  ain't  going  to  swing  it  alone,  I  take  it?" 

"I  haven't  thought  so  far  as  that." 

Mellin  wasted  no  words. 

"It  takes  time  and  money  to  get  a  charter  just 
now.  The  less  money,  the  more  time ;  the  less  time, 
the  more  money."  He  tipped  Elijah  a  knowing 
wink. 

Elijah  made  no  reply  and  Mellin  resumed  briskly. 

"I've  got  just  what  you  want.  An  omnibus  char 
ter  that'll  allow  you  to  do  anything  from  a  straight 
deal  to  skinning  suckers.  I  had  a  chance  to  get  it 
cheap  and  I'll  let  you  off  easy." 

"I  don't  know  that  I  want  it."  Elijah  spoke 
with  deliberation ;  but  his  mind  was  working  rap 
idly. 

"Better  take  it;  I  can  make  it  worth  your  while — 
fit  her  way,"  he  added  with  a  cunning  leer. 

Elijah  felt  a  cold  sinking  of  the  heart.  His 
chickens  were  coming  home  to  roost  sooner  than  he 
had  expected.  He  recognized  the  fact  that  his  note 
to  the  Las  Cruces,  secured  by  his  interest  in  the 
company,  was  in  the  nature  of  a  forced  loan,  after 
all;  that  it  would  sooner  or  later  compel  him  to 
answer  some  ugly  questions  to  some  men  in  an  uuly 
mood.  The  iron-gray  face  of  Seymour  rose  upper- 
im^t  in  his  mind. 

"What  do  you   want  for  your  charter?"     II- 
steadied  his  voice  with  an  effort. 

175 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"I'm  not  going  to  squeeze  you,  just  because  I've 
got  you  cinched.  That  isn't  T.  J.  Mellin,  Esq. 
'Live  and  let  live';  that's  my  motto;  only  live  well 
while  you  're  at  it.  We  're  a  long  time  dead. ' ' 

"What  do  you  want  for  your  charter?"  Elijah 
repeated. 

"Well,"  Mellin  looked  meditatively  at  the  burn 
ing  end  of  his  cigar  which  he  turned  toward  him 
self, — ''I'm  in  need  of  a  little  cash  just  now.  A 
matter  of  five  thousand.  One  hundred  thousand  on 
time,  in  addition,  will  do." 

"You  won't  get  it.  I'm  not  obliged  to  take  your 
charter."  Elijah's  jaws  snapped  together,  his  eyes 
were  narrowed  to  a  slit. 

"Just  as  you  say,  Berl.  There  are  worse  places 
than  San  Quentin.  You  and  I  would  be  taken  care 
of  there,  at  no  expense  to  ourselves." 

The  state  penitentiary  had  never  seemed  a  reality 
to  Elijah  before.  His  face  paled.  Mellin  noted  the 
look  with  evident  satisfaction. 

"It's  nothing  to  get  white  over.  There's  a  heap 
more  money  near  the  doors  of  San  Quentin  than 
anywhere  else.  The  closer  the  doors,  the  larger 
the  heap.  It  takes  a  little  more  courage  to  grab  it 
and  run,  that's  all.  I've  tried  it  before." 

"Will  you  take  the  one  hundred  thousand  in 
stock?" 

' '  That  would  be  easy ;  too  easy  for  me.  No  stock, 
thanks.  Five  thousand  cash,  one  hundred  thousand 

176 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

in  a  six  months,  ten  per  cent  note.  First  mortgage 
not*1.  I'm  prepared  to  deliver  the  goods."  He 
drew  a  large  envelope  from  his  pocket,  pulled  out 
the  charter  and  held  it  open  before  Elijah.  "Omni 
bus  goods.  A  license  to  pick  the  gilt  knobs  off 'n  the 
doors/' 

"Suppose  I  take  your  offer,  what  certainty  have 
I  that  this  will  end  your  demands?" 

"My  word,  Berl.  'Honor  among,  etc.*  You 
know.  Besides,  the  cinch  isn't  going  to  last  always. 
You're  going  to  be  able  to  square  yourself  with  the 
Las  Cruces.  That'll  end  me.  I  could  make  it  un 
pleasant,  but  what's  the  use?  Every  one  goes  in 
sight  of  the  doors  sometimes;  but  it's  only  fools 
who  get  inside.  I  know. ' ' 

Elijah  rose  slowly  and  went  into  the  house.  A 
little  later,  he  returned  and  handed  some  papers  to 
Mellin.  They  were  a  note  for  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  and  a  draft  on  a  San  Francisco  bank  for 
five  thousand.  In  the  note  was  this  condition.  It 
would  be  payable  three  months  after  the  water 
should  be  turned  into  the  main  canal  of  the  Las 
Cruces  company. 

Mellin  read  the  note. 

"I  object  to  the  conditional  payment.  The  \\at-r 
may  never  be  turned  on." 

"Then  you  are  welcome  to  the  land." 

M.-lliii  thought  a  moim-nt. 

"There's  something  in  that." 

177 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Everything,"  returned  Elijah  abruptly.  "The 
company  has  nothing  to  do  with  this  business.  They 
will  get  the  water  as  soon  as  possible." 

Mellin  again  looked  the  papers  over. 

"Keno.  Here's  your  license.  It's  worth  more; 
but  I  told  you  I  would  be  easy.  So  long."  He 
shoved  the  papers  into  his  pocket  and  started  for 
the  waiting  wagon. 

Elijah  listened  in  a  dazed  dream  to  the  crunch 
of  the  retreating  wheels.  He  was  not  thinking  of 
his  crime  nor  of  his  temporary  escape  from  its  pen 
alty.  He  was  thinking  of  Helen  Lonsdale,  and  of 
the  effect  of  the  knowledge  upon  her,  should  this 
ever  come  to  her. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  reappeared  upon  the  verandah. 
Elijah  handed  the  charter  to  her. 

"We  have  six  months  in  which  to  redeem  our 
selves."  He  offered  no  explanation;  she  asked 
none.  There  was  no  need.  The  walls  of  the  house 
were  thin,  and  moreover  the  windows  were  open. 


178 


CHAPTER  SEVENTEEN 

In  the  transaction  with  Mellin,  there  was  one 
thing  that  cut  Elijah  more  deeply  than  all  others. 
Mellin  had  insisted  that  the  mortgage  be  registered. 
I  If  was  too  shrewd  to  let  this  pass  by.  He  had  a 
hold  upon  Elijah  and  he  had  no  intention  of  loosen 
ing  it  without  a  consideration.  The  registration 
was  a  public  recognition  of  the  fact  that  Elijah 
had  dealings  with  Mellin  and  on  a  large  scale. 
There  was  no  use  in  requesting  that  the  transaction 
be  kept  in  obscurity.  The  object  of  registration  was 
publicity,  and  publicity  was  not  confined  to  those 
concerned  in  knowing;  the  books  were  open  to 
inspection  by  the  busiest  gossip  as  well  as  by  the 
most  earnest  business  man. 

For  the  first  time  in  his  life,  Elijah  was  learning 
the  bitter  lesson,  that  even  divine  guidance  does 
not  release  the  guided  from  responsibility  for  his 
actions.  There  was  bitterness  in  his  heart,  the  feel 
ing  that  he  had  been  betrayed. 

Vsleta  lived  on  sensations,  and  it  was  a  dainty 
morsel,  when  the  news  of  Elijah's  connection  with 
Mellin  lireaine  known.  Yet  it  had  no  malice  toward 
Elijah,  it  simply  welcomed  him  as  one  of  them- 

179 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

selves  and  this  was  what  cut.    He  could  no  longer 
conceal  from  himself  that  he  had  fallen. 

The  news  of  course  reached  Uncle  Sid  and  Win 
ston.  Winston  was  shocked,  yet  after  the  first  ef 
fects  had  passed  away,  he  recognized  the  fact,  that 
after  all,  he  was  not  surprised.  Absorbed  in  his 
field  duties,  he  had  put  from  him  for  the  time  his 
feeling  that  Elijah  was  not  wholly  to  be  trusted, 
that  for  all  his  vaunted  beliefs,  he  yet  lacked  the 
subtle  sense  of  honor  that  would  keep  him  true  to 
himself  and  to  his  fellows.  Winston  did  not  know, 
nor  did  Uncle  Sid,  of  the  darker  stain  that  was  on 
Elijah's  soul. 

"Perhaps  it  ain't  as  bad  as  it  looks,"  the  old 
seaman  remarked  when  he  had  broken  the  news 
to  Winston. 

"Perhaps  not,"  Winston  replied,  "but  I  have 
been  in  pretty  close  touch  with  Elijah  since  he  has 
been  in  California,  and  I  know  he's  sailed  close  to 
the  wind,  mighty  close, ' '  he  added  decisively. 

Uncle  Sid  looked  thoughtful. 

" Where 'd  he  get  money  to  start  with?" 

Winston  waited  a  long  time  before  replying.  He 
was  turning  over  in  his  mind  the  best  thing  to  be 
done.  He  felt  that  he  could  trust  the  old  man. 

"You  remember  the  Pacific  failure?" 

"I  reckon  I  do,  young  man.  I  have  cause  to.  I 
lost  fifteen  dollars  and  sixty-five  cents  in  that  fail- 


ISO 


T1IK   VISION  OF   KL1.IAH  BEKL 

Winston  smiled  at  Uncle  Sid's  earnestness. 

"The  Las  Cruces  lost  more  than  that.  An  even 
fifty  thousand.  At  least  our  books  show  that." 

Uncle  Sid  started.  Ho  looked  at  Winston  with 
wide-open  eyes,  every  line  of  his  wrinkled  face 
drawn  tense. 

"I  declare,  Ralph,  if  I  ever  thought  the  Lord 
would  lead  'Lige  quite  so  far  as  that!" 

'  *  I  guess,  Uncle  Sid,  that  you  and  I  think  alike 
about  the  Almighty's  share  in  this  transaction.  If 
this  isn't  the  devil's  work,  I  don't  know  the  gentle 
man." 

Uncle  Sid  made  no  immediate  reply.  A  little 
later  they  entered  the  Las  Cruces  office.  Helen 
looked  up  as  the  door  opened.  A  frank  cordial  smile 
illumined  her  face  as  she  recognized  her  callers. 

"Hello,  Ralph!  It's  about  time  you  came  in.  If 
you'd  waited  much  longer,  I'd  have  asked  for  a 
l''tt»-r  of  introduction."  She  turned  to  Uncil  Sid 
with  the  same  cordial  smile.  "Well  Captain,  I  see 
ymi  aren't  dry-docked  yet." 

"No.  My  scams  ain't  started  yet.  What  watrr 
tin-re  is  in  these  parts  is  just  as  wet  as  any." 

"Oh  we've  got  plenty  of  water  here  and  we're 
L'<iin«r  to  have  more." 

"Yes,  I  guess  you  have,  such  as  'tis.  Good 
enough  for  old-fashioned  suiliii'  craft.  But  when 
folks  ain't  satisfied  with  £oin'  as  fast  as  God's  wind 
blows  'em,  an'  th.-v  put  in  engines  an'  boilers,  the 

181 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

dum  water's  liable  to  eat  holes  in  their  boilers  an' 
blow  'em  up."  He  looked  around  the  room  curi 
ously.  "There's  a  power  o'  steam  escapin'  around 
here.  Where's  'Lige?  Look's  as  if  'Lige  had  got 
a  hole  eat  in  his  boilers,  an'  me  an'  Ralph's  come 
in  to  see  if  we  can  help  patch  'em  up." 

Helen  noted  the  keen,  old  eyes  and  the  humorous 
wrinkles  that  for  all  their  humor  were  yet  hard. 

"He  hasn't  been  in  this  morning;  I  expect  him 
every  moment." 

Uncle  Sid  turned  to  Winston. 

"It's  your  watch,  Ralph.    You  take  the  wheel." 

Winston  felt  reassured  to  a  certain  extent,  by 
Helen's  perfectly  natural  manner.  There  were  the 
same  frank  eyes,  the  same  friendly  smile  that  he 
knew  so  well.  Did  she  know  all  that  they  wished  to 
know  or  was  she  as  ignorant  as  they  of  all  but 
public  gossip?  He  was  going  to  find  out. 

"I  suppose  you  know,  Helen,"  he  began  soberly, 
"that  there  are  some  pretty  ugly  rumors  about 
Elijah  flying  around  Ysleta?" 

"Yes,  I  do  know."    Helen's  face  grew  hard. 

"How  much  truth  is  there  in  them?" 

Helen  met  Winston's  piercing  look  squarely. 

' '  I  don 't  know  any  more  than  you  know. ' '  There 
was  no  apparent  hesitation  in  her  manner,  but  her 
thoughts  were  busy  anticipating  what  was  to  come. 

Ralph  made  an  impatient  gesture. 

"We  can  talk  till  doomsday,  Helen,  and  you  can 

182 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

answer  and  tell  us  nothing,  if  you  choose.  You 
know  we  are  not  gossips,  and  you  know  that  we  are 
Elijah's  friends. " 

"Why  didn't  you  say  that  to  start  with?"  Helen 
flashed  back.  ''You  began  asking  me  questions  and 
I  answered  your  questions  truthfully." 

Uncle  Sid  noted  the  strained  situation. 

"She's  laid  you  broadside  on  there,  Ralph;  that 
gun  is  out  o'  action.  You'll  have  to  limber  up  an 
other  battery." 

Winston  and  Helen  both  turned  to  Uncle  Sid; 
then,  smiling,  their  eyes  met  and  the  threatened 
storm  passed  by. 

"Just  what  is  it,  Ralph?" 

"We  want  to  know  the  whole  business,  Helen,  so 
far  as  you  know." 

Uncle  Sid  again  broke  in. 

"When  a  bell  rattles,  we  want  to  know  whether 
its  cracked,  or  whether  there's  just  something  on  it 
that  can  be  got  off." 

"I  don't  think  Elijah's  cracked,  Uncle  Sid." 
She  grew  very  sober  as  she  turned  once  more  to 
Winston. 

"The  rumor  that  Mellin  holds  Elijah's  note  for 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  that  the  note  is  se 
cured  by  a  mortgage  on  the  Palm  Wells  tract,  is 
true.  These  facts  are  recorded.  I  have  seen  the 
records.  Further  than  that,  I  know  nothing." 

"Ur-r-rh!"  grunted  Uncle  Sid,  whose  thoughts 

183 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

suddenly  reverted  to  Eunice  MacGregor.    "I  guess 
I  know  the  tree  to  smoke  that  coon  out  of. ' ' 

Helen  shot  an  intelligent  glance  at  Uncle  Sid, 
her  lips  parted,  then  she  thought  better  of  her  im 
pulse  and  remained  silent. 

Winston  again  turned  to  Helen. 

"I  shall  have  to  ask  you  another  direct  question, 
Helen.  Did  the  company  get  their  deposit  from  the 
Pacific?" 

Helen  looked  squarely  at  Winston. 

1  ll  don't  know." 

" Perhaps  you  don't  know,  Helen,  but  you  are  in 
a  better  position  to  guess  than  we  are.  There's  no 
use  playing  with  words.  That  Palm  Wells  business 
called  for  ready  money.  I  know  as  well  as  you  do 
that  Elijah  had  no  such  amount.  The  question  is, 
where  did  he  get  it?" 

"If  I  knew  absolutely,  I  would  tell  you.  I  will 
tell  you  what  I  do  know,  but  I  shall  have  to  ask 
you  to»  keep  it  to  yourselves  for  a  little. ' '  Then 
she  told  of  Elijah's  discovery  of  the  frostless  belt; 
how,  half  in  jest,  half  in  earnast,  she  had  told  him 
that  she  might  avail  herself  of  her  knowledge;  of 
Elijah's  alarm;  of  their  agreement  to  acquire  the 
tract  together. 

"We  have,"  she  concluded,  "got  the  Pico  ranch 
in  our  hands.  My  five  thousand  is  in  it.  There 
was  fifty-five  thousand  paid  down.  Elijah  did  not 
tell  me  where  he  got  the  money,  but  I  supposed  at 

184 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

the  time  that  he  had  pledged  a  part  of  his  holdings 
in  the  Las  Cruces  to  raise  it." 

Uncle  Sid  looked  up.  There  was  sternness  but 
yet  kindness  in  the  keen  eyes  that  held  Helen 's. 

"Don't  you  think  you  ought  to  know,  Helen?" 

Helen's  face  grew  suddenly  drawn  and  white. 

"I  have  told  you  all  that  I  ought  to  tell  you, 
perhaps  more  than  was  right.  I  went  into  this 
business  of  my  own  free  will  and  there  have  come 
complications  that  I  did  not  foresee,  but  I  am  not 
justified  in  trying  to  free  myself  at  the  expense 
of  another.  I  am  telling  you  the  truth  so  far  as  I 
know  it.  It  isn't  for  me  to  make  inferences." 

The  interview,  so  far  as  its  object  was  concerned, 
was  ended.  Uncle  Sid  rose  stiffly  and  took  the 
girl's  hand  in  his  own. 

1  'I'm  afraid  that  you've  made  mistakes,  lassie, 
but  so  have  the  rest  of  us.  You've  got  stuff  in  you 
worth  savin',  an'  we're  goin'  to  stand  by  you." 

Winston  also  rose.  As  Helen  placed  her  hand  in 
his,  he  said : 

"Uncle  Sid  has  spoken  for  me  too,  Helen."  He 
held  her  hand  for  a  moment  only,  but  there  was, 
in  the  clasp  of  it,  that  which  went  straight  to  her 
heart.  She  did  not  dare  to  look  in  his  eyes.  She 
had  told  him  the  truth  as  she  knew  it,  but  not  as 
she  suspected  it.  How  much  more  could  she  have 
known  if  she  would ;  how  much  more  ought  she  to 
have  known?  She  had  not  until  now,  seen  clearly 

185 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

where  her  course  was  bound  to  lead  if  followed  to 
the  end.  Had  she  wilfully  declined  to  see?  She 
was  going  over  her  past,  analyzing  it  clearly,  logic 
ally,  unsparing  of  herself.  Even  yet  she  could 
not  understand  the  subtle  influence  with  which 
Elijah  had  surrounded  her,  but  at  last  her  eyes 
were  open  to  its  danger.  She  had  given  admiration, 
sympathy,  her  best  to  help  him,  her  warm  but  dis 
quieting  friendship.  Here  she  stopped  abruptly, 
her  eyes  wide  open,  her  face  scarlet,  her  heart 
throbbing  in  an  agony  of  pain  and  shame.  The 
parting  pressure  of  Ralph's  hand  came  to  her,  the 
eager  look  of  sympathy  which  she  had  felt  but  not 
seen.  She  longed  to  hear  his  voice  again,  to  feel 
the  touch  of  his  hand  in  her  own.  Slowly  she 
raised  her  head.  Her  face  was  pale  and  set.  Her 
sins  were  upon  her;  the  sins  of  innocence,  but  the 
burden  was  none  the  lighter  for  that ;  yet  she  would 
bear  it  alone  and  in  silence. 


186 


CHAPTER    EIGHTEEN 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  when 
Elijah  came  to  the  office.  There  was  the  old  rush 
and  swing  in  his  motions,  but  there  was  also  a  tense, 
restless  light  in  his  eyes  that  told  of  a  mind  not  at 
peace  with  itself;  of  a  mind  still  determined,  but 
lacking  the  old  time  confidence.  He  returned 
Helen's  greeting  effusively,  but  his  manner  was 
forced,  not  spontaneous.  He  went  to  his  desk  and 
began  nervously  rummaging  the  accumulated 
papers.  Frequently  he  called  Helen  to  him  to  help 
straighten  some  simple  matter. 

She  bore  his  nervous  petulance  with  patience, 
for  she  felt  that  she  knew  the  cause  of  his  agitation. 
In  sheer  desperation,  Elijah  was  bent  upon  mak 
ing  trouble,  knowing  that  in  every  detail  he  was 
wrong,  knowing  that  even  the  cause  of  his  agitation 
was  of  his  own  creation.  The  gossips  of  Ysleta 
told  him  this;  told  him  in  words  that  he  could  not 
twist  into  a  defense  of  himself,  and  this  increased 
his  nervous  petulance.  He  was  wrong,  terribly 
wrong,  and  he  knew  it,  knew  that  he  was  trying  to 
make  wrong,  right.  Point  after  point  he  brought 
up  with  Helen,  only  to  have  each  explained  in  a 

187 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

way  that  he  was  compelled  to  admit  was  without 
fault. 

Helen  was  patient.  She  thought  that  she  knew. 
Her  own  bitter  suffering  made  her  understand. 
Her  heart  went  out  in  great  throbs  of  sympathy 
toward  the  sorely  tried  man,  who  had  done  wrong 
and  was  repenting,  even  as  she  had  done  wrong 
and  was  now  bent  upon  righting  it, 

At  last,  however,  after  an  unusually  severe  and 
wholly  unwarranted  outburst,  she  threw  down  the 
paper  which  she  held.  Patience  had  ceased  to  be 
a  virtue.  It  was  a  menace,  not  only  to  herself,  but 
to  the  man  toward  whom  it  was  exercised. 

1 '  There 's  no  use  going  on  in  this  way  any  longer, 
Elijah!  There's  no  trouble  where  you  are  bent 
on  finding  it.  It's  in  the  beginning.  Let's  go  back 
and  straighten  that  out,  then  we  can  get  some 
where.  '  * 

1  'Well,  what  is  it?"  There  was  an  exasperating 
twist  in  Elijah's  words. 

Helen  passed  it  by. 

1 ' I've  done  wrong  and  I  know  it.  I  wanted  to 
get  ahead,  and  getting  ahead  meant  money.  I 
couldn't  get  into  the  Las  Cruces— " 

"I  gave  you  the  chance,"  interrupted  Elijah. 

Helen  paid  no  heed  to  the  interruption. 

"So  I  began  to  look  around  for  myself.  You 
know  the  rest." 

188 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

4 'There's  no  use  going  back  to  that."  Elijah 
spoke  impatiently. 

"Yes  there  is  use,"  Helen  persisted.  "You  have 
done  wrong  and  you  know  it.  You're  trying  to 
square  yourself  by  finding  fault  with  me.  It's  no 
use.  The  farther  you  go,  the  worse  off  you  are. 
The  long  and  short  of  it  is,  you  can't  throw  dust 
in  your  own  eyes. ' ' 

"I'm  not  trying  to  throw  dust  in  my  own  eyes." 
The  very  vehemence  of  his  denial  gave  the  lie  to  his 
words. 

"You  are  trying  to,  and  you  can't.  Nothing  can 
blind  your  eyes  to  the  fact  that  you  are  a  criminal. ' ' 

Elijah's  eyes  were  blazing  through  their  nar 
rowed  lids. 

"I  won't  allow  even  you  to  say  such  things  to 
me." 

"If  you  would  only  say  them  to  yourself,  it 
wouldn't  be  necessary.  I  hate  to  say  it,  Elijah, 
but,— you  took  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  the  com 
pany's  money.  That's  embezzlement.  It's  a 
crime."  Helen  voiced  her  long  suppressed  sus 
picion.  "You  smoothed  it  over  by  putting  in  its 
place  your  note  for  the  amount,  secured  by  your 
stock  in  the  company." 

"Have  you  been  through  my  private  papers?" 
Elijah  burst  out. 

"That's  not  to  the  point;  but  no,  I  haven't." 

"Then  how  do  you  know  this?" 

189 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

In  spite  of  herself,  in  spite  of  her  growing  hor 
ror  at  the  weakness  of  this  man  who  had  seemed 
so  strong,  Helen  could  not  repress  a  touch  of  wom 
anly  sympathy  in  her  reply. 

11  Because,  Elijah,  I  know  you." 

Elijah  was  not  to  be  turned  easily  from  a  real 
wrong.  It  was  good  to  feel  a  just  cause  of  resent 
ment. 

"You  have  no  right  to  pry  into  my  private  af 
fairs.  I  have  given  you  no  warrant  for  it." 

"Yes,  you  have  given  me  a  right.  I  am  as 
sociated  with  you  in  this  business  and  I  have  a 
right  to  know.  I  wish  you  would  tell  me  if  I  am 
right  in  my  guess." 

The  impulse  was  strong  in  Elijah  to  attempt  to 
deceive  Helen  even  as  he  had  long  deceived  him 
self,  but  there  was  a  look  in  her  eyes  that  weakened 
the  impulse. 

"Why?" 

"Because  that  would  square  you  with  yourself. 
You  could  hunt  a  way  out  then,  and  I'm  ready  to 
help  you.  But  you  haven't  answered  my  question 
yet.  Am  I  right?" 

'  *  Why  do  you  want  to  know  ? ' ' 

"Ralph  and  Uncle  Sid  were  in  to  see  you  this 
morning." 

"What  about?" 

"Seymour  will  be  here  soon—" 

Elijah  interrupted. 

190 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL' 

"Who's  told  Seymour?" 

"When  he  comes,"  Helen  went  on,  "he'll  ask 
questions.  He  won't  be  particular  about  the  ques 
tions;  but  he'll  be  mighty  particular  about  the  an 
swers.  You  know  what  he'll  ask,  and  you  know 
what  you'll  be  obliged  to  answer.  Do  you  want  to 
get  ready,  or  do  you  want  him  to  fall  on  you  in  a 
heap?" 

Elijah  could  not  conceal  his  agitation.  He  mois 
tened  his  dry  lips  with  his  tongue.  As  he  had  ar 
gued  with  himself,  so  he  began  to  argue  now;  not 
to  Helen,  but  to  the  vision  she  had  forced  his  eyes 
to  see. 

"I  saved  the  company  from  loss.  If  Mellin 
had  not  been  a  friend  of  mine,  he  never  would  have 
warned  me  that  the  Pacific  was  going  to  fail.  I 
saved  the  money  for  the  company.  I  wanted  the 
money,  I  needed  it  to  carry  on  my  work.  I  didn't 
embezzle  it,  I  gave  the  company  my  note.  It  is 
secured  at  twice  its  value,  by  my  entire  holdings 
in  the  Las  Cruces  company."  Elijah's  face  was 
drawn;  his  eyes  had  an  eager,  hunted  look. 

Was  this  pitiful  creature  the  man  who  had  so 
moved  her?  Helen  would  have  given  the  world  to 
have  taken  that  look  from  his  eyes ;  to  have  put  in 
its  place  the  clear,  inspired  light  that  had  at  first 
so  drawn  her  to  him ;  but  she  hardened  her  heart. 

"Elijah,  you're  a  hypocrite!  You've  got  the  in 
stincts  of  a  thief  without  his  courage.  This  stuff 

191 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

doesn't  go  with  me.  You  took  the  company's 
money.  Make  good  or  take  the  consequences." 

Elijah  sprang  to  his  feet. 

* '  My  God,  Helen !  I  won 't  listen  to  such  things. 
You've  no  right  to  say  them." 

Helen  calmed  herself  with  an  effort. 

*  *  I  was  quoting  Mr.  Seymour.  Would  you  rather 
wait  and  hear  him  directly?" 

Elijah  made  a  pathetic  gesture  as  he  sank  back 
in  his  chair. 

"I  didn't  think  you  would  turn  on  me  like  this, 
Helen." 

Helen  rose  and  placed  her  hand  on  Elijah's 
shoulder,  He  could  not  see  her  face,  and  she  no 
longer  tried  to  keep  her  eyes  from  showing  the 
conflicting  emotions  that  almost  overpowered  her. 

"I  haven't  turned  on  you,  Elijah.  I'm  not  going 
to  turn  on  you.  I  believe  in  you  yet.  We've  made 
a  mistake.  We  must  find  a  way  out." 

"You  made  a  mistake?" 

"Yes.  When  you  paid  Pico  the  fifty  thousand, 
I  felt  quite  sure  that  a  part  of  it  must  have  come 
from  the  Las  Cruces.  I  am  as  guilty  as  you  are." 

Before  she  could  prevent,  Elijah  had  snatched 
her  hand  from  his  shoulder  and  was  pressing  it  to 
his  lips.  Helen  wrenched  her  hand  from  his  lips. 
As  if  drawn  by  her  resisting  hand  he  rose  to  his 
feet,  his  burning  eyes  resting  on  hers.  In  vain  she 
tried  to  withdraw  her  hand  from  his  fierce  clasp. 

192 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Don't  leave  me,  Helen,  don't  leave  me!"  With 
wide  open  arms  he  sprang  toward  her. 

"With  hardly  a  perceptible  motion,  she  was  be 
yond  the  reach  of  his  outstretched  hands.  She  had 
no  palliating  knowledge  of  his  inner  thoughts,  no 
knowledge  of  the  malevolent  suggestions  of  Mrs. 
MacGregor,  no  knowledge  of  the  scene  in  Elijah's 
house,  where  the  lamplight  fell  on  a  tear-stained, 
baby  face,  on  blistered  sheets  with  hopeless  figures, 
upon  renunciation,  as  Elijah  closed  the  door  and 
deliberately  put  his  wife  from  him. 

Helen  stood  erect,  composed,  her  eyes  filled  with 
loathing,  contempt,  but  not  for  Elijah  alone.  This 
was  the  hardest  to  bear.  What  had  she  said,  what 
had  she  done  to  bring  this  horrible  thing  upon  her 
self? 

Elijah  slowly  grasped  the  meaning  of  Helen's 
eyes.  She  had  not  spoken.  There  was  no  need  that 
she  should  speak. 

"No !  no !  no !  Helen,  not  that,  not  that ;  you  don't 
understand." 

'  *  Stop  !    I  won 't  listen.    Not  to  a  word. ' ' 

"You  will!  You  must!"  There  was  no  passion 
now  either  in  words  or  looks,  only  a  set  determina 
tion  to  be  heard. 

Try  as  she  would,  Helen  could  not  stop  the  ex- 
plantation  he  offered,  the  palliation  of  his  sins  past 
and  to  come.  Even  as  he  had  said,  she  was  com- 

193 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

pelled  to  listen,  but  there  was  no  softening  of  her 
eyes,  no  change  in  the  set,  hard  face. 

"You  and  I  cannot  stay  any  longer  in  this  office. 
You  will  go  or  I."  Elijah  made  as  if  to  speak. 
' '  Stop ! ' '  Her  voice  was  imperative.  ' '  I  would  be 
justified  in  leaving  everything,  but  I  began  this 
wretched  business  and  at  whatever  cost  to  myself, 
I  will  see  it  through." 

Elijah  felt  the  hopelessness  of  further  words. 
Like  one  in  a  horrible  dream,  he  turned  to  his  desk 
and  began  to  straighten  his  papers. 

"I  will  attend  to  that.    Go!" 

Without  a  word  or  look,  Elijah  closed  the  office 
door  behind  him. 

It  required  all  Helen's  fortitude  to  control  her 
self.  She  attempted  no  self-palliation,  she  put  this 
aside.  She  had  been  innocent  of  intentional  wrong 
doing,  but  this  made  no  difference.  The  fact  was 
beyond  recall.  Only  the  future  was  hers  in  which 
to  make  atonement  at  whatever  cost  to  herself. 


194 


CHAPTER  NINETEEN 

Uncle  Sid  and  Winston,  after  leaving  the  office, 
went  toward  the  Rio  Vista.  Winston  was  the  first 
to  break  the  silence.  He  spoke  musingly. 

"Helen  doesn't  absolutely  know  whether  Elijah 
got  that  money  or  not.  If  she  had  known  certainly, 
she  would  have  told  us.  But  she  suspects  that  he 
got  it  and  used  it,  or  at  least  a  part  of  it.  There 
are  only  two  who  do  know  surely,  Mellin  and  Eli 
jah.  Mellin  has  a  strong  hold  on  Elijah,  or  he 
couldn't  have  got  that  note  from  him.  Elijah  drew 
the  money,  converted  it  to  his  own  use,  and  Mellin 
knows  it  and  is  making  Elijah  pay  him  to  keep 
quiet." 

"Well!"  Uncle  Sid  stopped  abruptly  and 
thrust  his  walking  stick  into  the  sand.  "Welll" 
he  repeated,  "what  are  you  going  to  do  about  it?" 

"I'm  going  to  hunt  Mellin  down  and  make  him 
give  up."  Winston's  jaws  set. 

Uncle  Sid  smiled  grimly. 

"Well,  young  man,  I'm  all-fired  rejoiced  that 
you  ain't  a-huntin'  me.  I'm  goin'  a-huntin'  too." 

At  the  Rio  Vista  they  parted.  Uncle  Sid  stumped 
up  to  the  hotel  office. 

195 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Say,  senner,"  he  was  addressing  the  clerk, 
"Mrs.  MacGregor  ain't  been  sighted  yet,  has  she?" 

The  clerk  smiled  affably. 

"Not  yet,  Captain.  Expect  her  to  make  port 
today.  Any  messages?" 

"Yes,  plenty,  but  I'll  deliver  'em  myself." 

Mrs.  MacGregor  made  port  promptly  and  as 
promptly  Uncle  Sid  began  to  deliver  his  message. 

"Well,  Eunice,  it  seems  you've  finally  settled  to 
the  conviction  that  there's  more  money  in  a  servant 
o'  the  Lord  than  in  folks  that's  got  handles  to  their 
names." 

"What  do  you  mean,  Sidney?" 

"What  do  you  mean,  Eunice,  takin'  your  ward's 
money  an'  puttin'  it  into  this  wild-cat  business?" 

"I'm  not  aware  that  I  have  told  you  or  any  one 
else  what  I  have  done  with  Alice's  money." 

"I'm  perfectly  aware  o'  you,  Eunice,  an'  I  have 
been  for  a  good  many  years.  You  ain't  got  a  cent 
o'  your  own  an'  you've  been  spungin'  off  from 
Alice.  She  didn't  seem  to  mind,  so  I  didn't  inter 
fere  ;  but  this  is  different.  You  just  back  right  out 
now  or  I'll  make  you."  Uncle  Sid's  face  was  not 
pleasant  to  contemplate. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  smiled  complacently. 

' '  It  seems  to  me  that  you  are  very  suddenly  and 
deeply  interested  in  my  doings." 

"I  am!"  Uncle  Sid  snapped  out.  "An'  for  two 
reasons.  In  the  first  place  you  are  swindling  Alice 

196 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

out  o'  her  money,  an'  in  the  second,  the  good  name 
o'  the  Harwoods  is  in  danger.  Either  one  is  enough 
to  rile  my  fightin'  blood,  an'  take  'em  both  together, 
I'm  fifty  years  younger 'n  my  birthday  calls  for." 

Mrs.  MacGregor  spoke  coldly. 

4 'You  are  very  much  mistaken,  Sidney,  if  you 
think  you  are  frightening  me." 

"I  am  mistaken.  I  never  thought  you  a  fool,  I 
declare  if  I  did!  Not  this  kind.  Accordin'  to  my 
notion,  you've  tried  on  a  powerful  lot  o'  different 
kinds  o'  fool,  but  I  never  thought  you'd  settle 
down  to  this." 

Mrs.  MacGregor  vouchsafed  no  reply.  She  went 
to  her  closet,  and  began  sorting  various  articles  of 
clothing  and  laying  them  out  on  the  bed. 

"What  are  you  up  to  now?" 

"I'm  going  East  on  business." 

Uncle  Sid  rose  to  his  feet  and  walked  to  Mrs. 
MacGregor.  Laying  his  hands  on  her  shoulders,  he 
turned  her  sharply  till  her  eyes  met  his.  The  eyes 
that  looked  coldly  into  his  had  a  well-bred,  unruffled 
stare,  exasperatingly  insolent,  exasperating,  be 
cause  they  gave  no  open  ground  for  resentment. 

"Eunice,  I'm  going  to  make  a  fool  of  myself. 
I've  got  two  hundred  thousand  laid  up  in  the  best 
kind  o'  securities.  They  bring  me  in  ten  thousand 
a  y.-ar.  You  just  get  back  that  girl's  money,  an* 
I'll  give  you  this  so  long  as  I  live.  If  I  go  first, 
197 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

an'  it's  likely  I  will,  I'll  fix  it  so  you'll  get  it  so 
long's  you  live." 

Mrs.  MacGregor  spoke  calmly. 

"Why  didn't  you  say  this  to  me  before?" 

"Because  there's  been  no  especial  reason  for  my 
making  a  fool  o'  myself  before." 

Mrs.  MacGregor,  still  looking  into  her  brother's 
eyes,  thought  rapidly.  Her  regret  that  Uncle  Sid 
had  not  spoken  before  was  sincere.  She  would  ac 
cept  now  if  she  could.  She  thought  of  accepting 
Uncle  Sid's  offer  and  then  trying  to  free  herself; 
but  if  she  should  fail,  she  knew  that  Uncle  Sid 
would  not  hesitate  to  cut  her  off  instantly,  and 
without  mercy.  She  was  convinced  that  there  was 
no  way  out  of  it.  Elijah  would  fight  against  it, 
Mellin  would  oppose  everything  before  he  would 
let  go  his  hold.  More  sincerely  than  she  had  ever 
regretted  anything  in  her  life,  she  regretted  her 
inability  to  accept  her  brother's  offer.  There  was 
only  one  way  open— to  go  on.  Her  calm,  cynical 
smile  was  more  exasperating  than  her  stare. 

"Alice  will  be  down  from  San  Francisco  in  about 
two  weeks.  I  want  you  to  take  care  of  her  while  I 
am  East." 

Uncle  Sid  was  answered.  He  thrust  his  sister 
from  him  so  violently,  that  she  staggered  to  regain 
her  balance,  but  the  calm,  insolent  smile  never  left 
her  face. 

198 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"I'll  take  care  o'  her.  I'll  take  care  o'  her,  an' 
you  too,  an'  that  servant  o'  the  Lord." 

Uncle  Sid  stamped  from  the  room.  Mrs.  Mac- 
Gregor  summoned  a  messenger  from  the  office.  He 
was  instructed  to  secure  a  ticket  that  evening  for 
the  overland  express.  Then  she  resumed  her  prep 
arations  for  departure.  She  had  arranged  all  de 
tails  with  Elijah.  The  Palm  Wells  company  had 
been  fully  organized,  its  officers  chosen.  To  Mrs. 
MacGregor  was  entrusted  the  task  of  raising  the 
necessary  funds— for  what?  Both  Mrs.  MacGregor. 
and  Elijah  had  avoided  these  details. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  was  promptly  on  hand  for  the 
overland  express,  and  it  was  with  a  great  and  grow 
ing  sense  of  satisfaction  and  importance  that  she 
settled  herself  in  her  sleeper.  Her  journey  to  the 
East  was  not  so  pleasant  as  she  had  anticipated; 
but  her  hand  was  turned  to  her  voluntary  task, 
and  she  could  not  now  go  back  if  she  would.  She 
put  aside  disagreeable  impossibilities  and  gave  her 
thoughts  to  her  future,  the  raising  of  money  to 
further  her  schemes  and  Elijah's. 

Uncle  Sid  had  at  once  divined  that  his  sister's 
first  field  of  operations  would  be  their  native  town 
and  Elijah's.  He  accordingly  took  prompt  meas 
ures  to  block  her  plans.  He  at  once  wrote  to  his 
banker,  an  old  and  trusted  friend,  giving  him  an 
outline  of  the  situation  and  advising  him  against 
co-operation  with  Mrs.  MacGregor.  The  keen  busi- 

199 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

ness  acumen  which  had  enabled  him  to  accumulate 
two  hundred  thousand  in  first-class  securities, 
pointed  his  written  utterances  in  keen-edged  words 
which  never  missed  their  mark,  and  invariably  car 
ried  conviction  with  them. 

Many  a  mickle  makes  a  muckle,  and  the  sea 
faring  mickles  of  Mrs.  MacGregor 's  native  town 
which  had  been  so  painfully  accumulated  through 
many  years  of  toil,  and  towards  which  that  astute 
lady  had  turned  expectant  and  longing  eyes,  were 
now  plunging  her  into  the  depths  of  despair. 

The  denizens  of  Fall  Brook  turned  greedy  eyes 
to  the  golden  promises  she  offered  them,  their  ears 
were  always  open,  but  the  end  was  ever  the  same. 
The  knots  in  the  stockings  were  only  tied  the 
tighter  because  of  their  canny  greed  and  because  of 
her  words  which  threatened  to  despoil  them. 
Finally  the  promises  of  Mrs.  MacGregor,  made  to 
a  scant  but  influential  few,  of  stock  in  the  Palm 
Wells  tract,  as  a  bonus  for  persuading  their  fellows 
to  invest,  added  zealous  recruits  to  her  cause. 
These,  however,  not  only  failed  in  positive  results, 
but  defeated  her  every  hope  of  success.  In  a  land 
where  the  equality  of  individuals  was  the  breath  of 
life,  the  arbitrary  choice  of  the  few  to  be  the  leaders 
of  the  many  was  an  insult  which  no  self-respecting 
New  Englander  could  fail  to  resent. 

The  gray-haired  banker  was  Mrs.  MacGregor 's 
last  resort.  Urged  by  messages  from  Elijah,  at  first 

200 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

urgent,  then  importunate,  Mrs.  MacGregor  turned 
to  the  banker.  He  was  tarred  with  the  same  stick 
as  wore  his  fellow  citizens ;  moreover,  he  was  in  re- 
ooipt  of  an  extra  stick  from  Uncle  Sid.  The  letter 
that  had  traveled  eastward  with  Mrs.  MacGregor 
had  received  due  consideration,  and  its  contents 
had  been  judiciously  distributed.  With  the  same 
measure,  with  which  for  years  she  had  measured 
her  fellow  townsmen,  Mrs.  MacGregor  was  being 
measured.  Wounded  pride,  bitter,  burning  resent 
ment,  accompanied  her  on  her  return  trip  to  Cali 
fornia. 


201 


CHAPTER  TWENTY 

In  any  great  and  growing  business,  there  is  often 
a  readjusting  and  shifting  of  duties  from  shoulder 
to  shoulder,  as  one  official  after  another  discovers 
aptitude  for  a  special  line  of  work. 

Thus  it  happened  that,  contrary  to  Helen 's  fears, 
no  comment  was  excited  either  in  the  office  itself  or 
in  Ysleta  over  Elijah's  prolonged  absence.  In  both 
places  it  was  tacitly  assumed  that  his  new  venture 
was  consuming  the  greater  part  of  his  time.  For 
some  weeks  most  of  the  routine  business  transacted 
in  Elijah's  name  had  in  reality  been  performed  by 
Helen,  so  that  it  was  easy  for  her  to  take  upon  her 
self  the  entire  direction  of  the  office  work.  In  their 
intimate  official  relations,  Helen  had  discovered 
Elijah's  weak  points,  but  this  discovery  had  drawn 
her  closer  to  him.  In  the  multitudinous  business 
details  of  the  office,  often  petty  and  annoying,  Eli 
jah  had  shown  a  restless  impatience,  and  an  ina 
bility  to  straighten  them  out  satisfactorily.  He  had 
discovered  a  lack  of  the  subtle  distinctions  of  honor 
and  honesty,  characteristic  of  a  man  of  strong, 
rugged  integrity.  With  the  development  of  the 

202 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Las  Cruces  to  a  point  of  assured  success,  there  had 
grown  up  in  Elijah  an  increasing  sense  of  the  mag 
nitude  of  his  work  and  of  himself. 

Helen  had  taken  the  details  of  the  office  upon 
herself  and  with  infinite  patience  she  had  worked 
them  into  harmony.  She  had  been  Elijah's  con 
science  in  a  thousand  different  ways  that  were 
buried  from  sight  in  the  work  as  a  whole.  Some 
times  patiently,  more  often  impatiently,  Elijah  had 
rebelled  against  her  insistent  suggestions,  but  in 
the  end  he  had  yielded.  To  a  certain  extent  Helen 
had  been  blinded  as  to  the  real  Elijah  by  her  pre 
conceived  notions  of  him.  She  had  regarded  him 
as  a  great  man  with  great  ideas.  With  this  central 
thought  she  had  looked  leniently  upon  his  faults, 
as  weaknesses  inseparable  from  greatness.  With  a 
loyal  devotion,  especially  characteristic  of  women, 
she  had  largely  submerged  herself  in  Elijah.  She 
had  gradually  come  to  believe  in  him  almost  as  he 
believed  in  himself.  The  disintegrating  effects  of 
this  belief  upon  her  character  were  gradual  and  in 
sinuating.  She  was  deteriorating  from  the  strong, 
sturdy  sense  of  honor  that  had  been  her  chief  char 
acteristic.  Upon  Elijah,  the  effects  of  her  loyalty 
•were  bound  to  be  equally  disastrous.  She  was  his 
ideal  of  womanhood.  She  was  his  devoted  ally. 
The  result  was  a  growing  belief  that  what  he  de 
sired  was  right  and  that  this  right  should  not  be 
questioned. 

203 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Beyond  a  vague,  ill-defined  consciousness  that  she 
was  getting  on  dangerous  ground,  Helen  had  given 
little  thought  to  what  might  be  the  end  of  her  inti 
mate  relations  with  Elijah.  He  was  a  married  man. 
She  had  met  his  wife.  The  meeting  had  had  the 
sinister  effect  of  developing  her  sympathy  for  Eli 
jah  in  a  new  line. 

In  the  affairs  of  the  Las  Cruces,  Helen  had  been 
Elijah's  conscience.  He  had  repeatedly  yielded  to 
her  judgment.  She  had  experienced  a  glow  of  sat 
isfaction  in  this  that  had  strengthened  the  bonds 
between  them.  Of  late,  she  had  been  conscious 
that  her  influence  was  becoming  less  potent,  but 
she  had  not  connected  this  fact  with  the  advent  of 
Mrs.  MacGregor.  The  first  indication  that  Elijah's 
actions  were  not  as  wholly  in  her  keeping  as  she 
had  assumed  was  her  suspicion  of  his  transaction 
with  the  Pacific  Bank.  This  had  startled  her,  but 
to  a  certain  extent  she  had  glossed  it  over. 

When  she  learned,  not  through  Elijah,  but 
through  the  published  fact,  of  Elijah's  mortgage  to 
Mellin,  the  veil  of  his  influence  was  thinned.  It 
had  startled  her,  shocked  her,  but  it  had  strength 
ened  her  determination  to  make  the  venture  a  suc 
cess,  even  at  the  price  of  an  open  rupture  when  her 
strength  would  be  pitted  against  Elijah's.  She 
had  no  fear  for  results ;  Elijah  had  placed  too  many 
weapons  in  her  hands  which  she  could  use  against 
him.  She  would  compel  him,  if  her  influence  failed. 

204 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

If  Elijah  should  force  her  to  go  to  Seymour  or 
Ralph,  she  was  ready  to  take  any  consequences  they 
might  thrust  upon  her. 

When  she  had  learned,  not  by  Elijah's  voluntary 
confession,  but  by  the  confession  which  she  had 
forced  from  him,  that  he  had  converted  the  com 
pany's  money  to  his  own  use,  and  had  in  reality 
made  her  a  party  to  it,  the  shock  impelled  her  to 
open  rupture  and  at  once.  Then  came  the  reaction 
to  pity  for  the  strained,  agonized  face  that  pleaded 
more  strongly  for  mercy  than  his  words.  Her 
thoughts  were  not  deliberately  logical,  but  vibrat 
ing  from  point  to  point. 

Another  swing  of  her  mental  pendulum  and  the 
confession  of  his  guilty  love  came  back  to  her  with 
crushing,  humiliating  force.  She  could  not  forget 
the  shame  of  it.  Even  to  this  day  the  pain  was  not 
lulled.  But  in  the  first  withering  humiliation,  when 
the  last  remnant  of  the  veil  of  her  illusion  had  been 
torn  away,  the  sense  of  self-preservation  had  been 
strong  within  her.  The  open  rupture  had  come. 
From  now  on  she  must  fight  Elijah  and  alone,  fight 
for  her  honor  and  his  redemption  if  possible.  In 
the  days  that  followed  she  had  forgiven  Elijah,  but 
she  could  not  forgive  herself  without  atonement. 
The  forgiveness  had  not  drawn  her  to  Elijah,  it 
h;i<l  put  him  farther  away.  She  forgavo  him  in 
justice,  for  she  frit  that  in  some  way.  she  did  not 
see  why,  she  could  not  reason  why,  but  in  some 

205 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

way,  she  had  opened  the  road  that  had  led  to  his 
declaration.  Personalities  were  at  an  end  between 
them ;  she  had  a  right  to  this  much ;  but  in  the  Pico 
ranch  transaction,  the  end  was  not  yet.  She  re 
volted  against  it  in  her  heart,  but  in  this  matter 
were  involved  more  than  herself  and  Elijah.  She 
would  see  it  through;  she  must. 


206 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-ONE 

Neither  the  guests  of  the  Rio  Vista  nor  the  in 
habitants  of  Ysleta  were  as  much  disturbed  over 
Uncle  Sid's  illiterate  speech  as  was  his  sister.  None 
of  these  knew  what  Mrs.  MacGregor  knew,  that  a 
lifetime  spent  before  the  mast  and  on  the  quarter 
deck  is  apt  to  counteract,  in  forms  of  speech  at 
least,  even  a  careful  early  education.  Not  all  Mrs. 
MacGregor 's  polished  manners  and  studied  words 
could  move  a  human  heart  to  a  single  throb,  nor 
could  Uncle  Sid's  uncouth  motions  and  clipped 
speech  chill  the  loyalty  of  his  many  friends.  His 
quaint  humor  that  touched  lightly,  though  unerr 
ingly,  upon  the  foibles  of  humanity,  blinded  no  one 
to  the  shrewd  eyes  that  looked  with  no  uncertain 
light  upon  the  line  that  divided  right  from  wrong. 
In  short,  Uncle  Sid  was  sought  after  and  welcomed 
where  his  polished  sister  was  shunned,  avoided, 
and  heartily  disliked. 

Thus  it  happened  that  when  Helen  had  named  a 
date  for  the  long  talked  of  trip  to  the  dam  a  goodly 
number  of  Uncle  Sid's  admirers  were  ready  to  go 
\\ith  them.  Winston  had  been  duly  notified  and 
was  ready  for  their  entertainment. 

207 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Helen  was  nearly  if  not  quite  as  popular  as 
Uncle  Sid,  though  on  different  grounds.  Her  air 
of  reserve  was  wholly  apart  from  the  spirit  of 
camaraderie  that  welcomed  Uncle  Sid,  but  there 
was  yet  a  kindly  and  humane  atmosphere  surround 
ing  her  that  was  good  to  breathe.  Her  reserve,  in 
stead  of  repelling,  attracted  and  inspired  a  confi 
dence  and  loyalty  that  needed  but  an  occasion  to 
arouse  it  to  open  manifestation.  Contrary  to  her 
fears,  had  every  secret  which  she  was  trying  to  bury 
in  the  chambers  of  her  heart  been  published,  this 
loyalty  would  have  stood  forth  in  fierce  array  be 
tween  her  and  condemnation. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  appointed  day  a 
jolly  party  formed  in  line  at  the  doors  of  the  Rio 
Vista,  and,  reinforced  by  carriages  from  the  town, 
streamed  out  into  the  desert,  along  the  banks  of 
the  Sangre  de  Cristot  and  paused  where  the  last 
aqueduct  of  the  great  canal  was  nearly  completed. 
Here  all  was  bustle  and  hurry,  but  confusion  was 
absent.  Unshaped  timbers  came  to  men  with 
squares  and  saws,  ready  hands  took  them,  and  when 
squares  and  saws  had  done  their  work,  passed  them 
to  other  hands  that  raised  them  on  squeaking  der 
ricks  ;  the  groaning  ropes  delivered  their  burdens  to 
trestles  where  they  were  swung  and  fastened 
in  position.  There  were  no  misfits.  This  had  been 
provided  against  by  keen-eyed,  eager-faced  youths 
with  blue  prints  and  transits,  who  directed  the 

208 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

squares  and  saws  and  plumbed  the  groaning  trestles. 

There  were  exclamations  of  surprise,  of  admira 
tion,  of  approval  from  the  visitors.  Helen  was  pro 
foundly  moved.  Winston's  name  was  on  every 
tongue,  while  Elijah  was  hardly  mentioned.  Back 
of  the  blue  prints  where  the  cut  of  every  timber 
had  been  clearly  drawn,  where  the  position  of  every 
spike  and  bolt  had  been  accurately  defined,  back  of 
every  spider-line  in  transits  that  unerringly  fixed 
every  placed  timber,  back  of  every  motion  of  busy 
hands  that  moved  out  and  in  with  no  collision, 
Helen  saw  the  engineer  who  had  traced  the  draw 
ings  and  had  organized  the  work.  Back  of  the 
engineer,  she  saw  the  man  who  had  made  this 
possible. 

Helen  was  standing  apart  from  the  visitors.  She 
was  dumbly  conscious  that  among  these,  like  was 
gathering  to  like,  even  as  she,  though  alone,  was 
gathered  to  herself  and  apart  from  them  all.  One 
cluster,  linked  together  by  the  common  hope  that 
this  great  work  would  even  yet  redeem  their  fallen 
fortunes;  a  second  group,  building  other  castles  of 
cards  from  their  former  ruin;  still  another,  un 
thinking,  uncaring,  unseeing,  dancing,  chattering, 
alive  to  tin-  sunlight,  alive  to  the  bustle,  alive  to  the 
enveloping  spirit  like  particles  of  iron  in  the  pres 
ence  of  a  magnet,  and  as  little  conscious  of  the 
influences  that  were  playing  upon  them.  Every 
clink  of  hammer,  every  rasp  of  saw,  every  voice, 

209 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

exuberant  or  subdued,  was  speaking  of  the  triumph 
of  one  man,  the  possible  disgrace  of  another. 

The  clusters  broke  and,  led  by  Uncle  Sid,  re- 
gathered  about  Helen. 

''Look  here,  Miss  Lonsdale,"  said  one,  "if  you 
will  allow  a  suggestion,  just  fold  your  arms  and 
hump  your  shoulders  and  the  picture  will  be  com 
plete—Napoleon  before  the  pyramids  of  Egypt." 

* '  I  didn  't  suppose  that  basking  in  reflected  glory 
made  one  a  subject  for  cartooning;  if  it  does,  we'll 
all  pose  together." 

"Don't  be  too  modest,  young  woman,"  Uncle  Sid 
broke  in  reprovingly,  "a  fog  bank  may  hide  the 
sun  but  it  gets  its  back  blistered  doin'  it." 

"Shall  we  start  on?"  suggested  Helen;  "it's  a 
long  way  yet  to  the  dam. ' ' 

The  road  followed  along  the  line  of  the  canal, 
affording  a  complete  inspection  of  the  work.  Only; 
the  canal  was  level,  cutting  through  rolls,  bridging 
arroyos,  and  boring  through  rocky  hills  too  deeep 
for  cuts.  The  country  grew  too  rough  for  wagons 
as  it  neared  the  foot  hills  of  the  San  Bernardinos, 
and  here  the  road  turned  into  the  bed  of  the  canal. 
There  were  occasional  stretches  where  the  bed  was 
sandy ;  these  were  cemented  to  prevent  loss  of  water 
by  seepage.  On  the  sides  of  deep  gulches,  the  canal 
was  cut  in  the  steep  banks,  walled  above  and  below 
to  hold  the  stream  in  place.  The  work  was  inspir 
iting,  exhilarating.  It  was  the  conquest  of  Nature, 

210 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

or  was  it  the  higher  Nature  asserting  itself,  select 
ing  and  assimilating  that  which  had  hitherto  been 
uncalled  into  active  existence?  Perhaps  no  one  of 
the  party  asked  himself  the  question,  yet  each  felt 
that  it  was  a  great  work,  a  great  idea,  a  daring  one. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  canon,  the  canal  ended. 
Across  the  canon  was  built  a  deflecting  dam  of  solid 
masonry.  Where  the  canal  led  into  the  dam, 
massive  gates  were  placed  by  means  of  which  the 
water  from  the  great  reservoir  in  the  mountains 
could  be  turned  into  the  canal  or  cut  off  from  it  at 
will.  Apparently  there  was  not  a  contingency  but 
had  been  foreseen  and  provided  for. 

On  a  level  spot  of  ground  near  the  gates,  a  mes 
senger  from  Winston  awaited  the  party  to  say  that 
he  was  unavoidably  detained,  but  that  he  would 
expect  them  the  following  day.  Tents  and  food 
were  waiting,  and  the  night  was  pleasantly  spent. 
Only  the  master  of  it  all  was  absent. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  camp  was  astir  and 
breakfast  disposed  of,  horses  were  saddled  and  the 
party  under  way.  Winston  was  better  than  his 
word,  for  he  met  them  part  way  down  the  trail. 
His  welcome  was  an  ovation.  Men  and  women 
crowded  around,  each  eager  to  take  his  hand  and 
pour  congratulations  into  his  reluctant  ears. 

"I  accept,  by  proxy,  for  the  real  man."  was  his 
reply. 

Uncle  Sid  awaited  his  turn.    His  loyal  old  heart 

211 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

was  bursting  with  pride  over  all  he  had  seen.  There 
was  a  suspicious  brightness  in  the  old  man's  eyes 
as,  with  Winston's  hand  clasped  in  both  his  own, 
he  looked  into  his  eyes. 

" Ralph,  my  boy,"  he  said,  "I  have  no  child  of 
my  own,  but  if  I  had,  an'  he'd  done  what  you  have, 
I'd  want  my  heart  steel-hooped  to  keep  it  from 
burstin'." 

Winston's  grip  tightened  on  the  knotty  fingers. 

11  Thank  you,  Uncle  Sid."  Then  withdrawing 
his  hand,  he  slipped  it  through  the  old  man's  arm. 

Uncle  Sid  stopped  abruptly  and  thrust  the  hand 
aside,  giving  Winston  an  initial  push. 

"Now  you  go  along  where  you're  wanted.  These 
folks  are  just  burstin'  full  o'  worship.  It  will  do 
'em  good  to  let  it  out  at  a  tin  god,  if  they  don't 
know  any  better.  It's  good  for  folks  to  worship 
somethin'  besides  themselves." 

Through  the  long  day  that  followed— it  seemed 
long  to  Winston— Helen  skilfully  avoided  him. 
Without  seeming  effort,  she  managed  to  be  sur 
rounded  with  others,  giving  Winston  no  word  alone. 
Outwardly,  she  was  her  old  buoyant  self.  Only  to 
the  keen  eyes  of  Winston  was  her  manner  forced. 

Towards  night,  Winston  saw  Helen  and  Uncle 
Sid  standing  together  on  one  of  the  abutments  of 
the  dam.  Without  undue  haste  he  joined  them. 

"Well,  Helen,  are  you  satisfied  with  the  handi 
work  of  your  servant  ? ' ' 

212 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"If  you  are  my  servant,  why  do  you  come  into 
my  presence  without  being  bidden?" 

"I  asked  my  question  first,  and  you  haven't  an 
swered  it." 

"It  strikes  me  that,  you  are  either  presumptuous 
or  hypocritical.  Don't  you  think  so,  Uncle  Sid?" 
She  flashed  her  eyes  toward  Uncle  Sid.  There  was 
a  shade  of  annoyance  in  the  look  that  she  turned  to 
Winston.  "I  believe  you  and  Uncle  Sid  are  fellow 
conspirators." 

' '  Then  I  am  not  mistaken.  You  have  avoided  me 
today?" 

"Suppose  I  have,"  she  replied  evasively. 

"It's  too  late  for  that,  Helen.  You  have  given 
me  rights  and  I  claim  them."  Winston's  voice  was 
decided. 

"You  are  harking  back  to  barefoot  rights.  You 
perhaps  remember  that  Uncle  Sid  said  that  these 
were  only  letters  of  introduction  to  shoes  and 
stockings." 

"Yes.  And  I  humbly  present  them."  Winston 
replied  in  the  forced  humor  of  Helen's  words. 

"But,"  protested  Helen,  "I  have  put  away 
childish  things,  bare  feet  and  all.  See!"  She 
thrust  out  a  booted  foot  from  beneath  her  skirt. 

"That's  only  a  boot,  and  I'm  not  in  it." 

"You're  getting  childish,  Ralph,  so  you  will  have 
to  go  with  the  rest." 

"I  am  willing,  so  long  as  I  go  with  the  foot." 

213 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Helen  was  walking  slowly  up  the  steep  bank  and 
through  a  thicket  of  scrubby  pine.  Uncle  Sid  had 
disappeared  from  sight.  Winston  laid  a  detaining 
hand  on  her  arm. 

"Wait,  Helen,  I  have  a  great  many  things  to  say 
to  you.*' 

"This  is  a  pleasure  trip,  Ralph.  You  can  say 
things  at  the  office."  She  turned  and  took  a  step 
forward,  but  only  a  step.  Winston's  hand  was 
gentle  but  firm.  Helen  seated  herself  on  a  mat  of 
pine  needles.  Her  face  was  flushed  with  resent 
ment.  Was  it  resentment? 

Winston  noticed  the  heightened  color.  Its  cause 
was  a  question  with  a  doubtful  answer,  but  he  did 
not  hesitate  on  that  account. 

"It's  no  use  trying  to  deceive  me,  Helen.  There 
is  something  troubling  you,  and  seriously,  too— ' 

"Suppose  there  is,  may  I  not  keep  my  troubles 
to  myself  if  I  choose?"  She  tried  to  speak  firmly 
and  finally. 

Winston  continued  with  no  resentment  and  with 
no  vacillation. 

"If  you  are  troubled  about  any  affairs  of  the 
company,  I  ought  to  know;  you  should  not  keep  it 
from  me.  If  it  is  personal,  I  have  no  intention  of 
forcing  your  confidence.  I  only  want  to  ask  you 
one  thing.  Don't  you  believe  that  I  am  your  sin 
cere  friend?" 

Helen    strove    to    conceal    her    agitation.      She 

214 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

longed  with  all  her  heart  to  meet  half  way  the  open 
loyalty  that  was  offered  her.  She  longed  to  show 
him  that  she  appreciated  it,  but— how  could  she  be 
frank  with  him  without  disloyalty  to  Elijah?  Eli 
jah  had  forfeited  her  respect,  but  was  he  wholly  to 
blame?  He  had  absolved  her  from  the  obligations 
of  friendship,  but  there  were  other  obligations  that 
she  could  not  put  aside.  Together  they  had  as 
sumed  business  responsibilities,  together  they  must 
meet  them.  She  longed  for  Winston's  advice,  as 
sistance,  but  how  could  she  accept  either  without 
baring  the  secret  shame  that  was  festering  in  her 
heart?  Strive  as  she  would,  she  could  not  wholly 
control  her  voice. 

"You  have  always  been  my  friend,  Ralph.  Please 
try  to  believe  that  I  appreciate  it.  You  can't  know 
what  it  means  to  me  and  I  can't  tell  you.  Won't 
you  trust  me  a  little  longer?"  She  tried  to  steady 
the  deep  black  eyes  that  she  raised  to  him. 

Winston  caught  the  hand  that  trembled  on  the 
matted  needles. 

"Always,  Helen,  always." 

She  gently  withdrew  her  hand,  rising  to  go. 

"Thank  you.  You  may  not  know  what  you  are 
promising."  There  was  a  pathetic  smile  hovering 
over  the  trembling  lips.  "Let's  stop  where  we 
are." 

"No."  Winston  was  standing  beside  her.  "I 
know  more  than  you  think  I  do,  Helen.  Elijah 

215 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Berl  is  a  thief.  You  know  it  and  I  know  it.  He 
has  involved  you,  in  appearance  at  least.  You  are 
too  honest,  too  loyal  to  leave  him  as  he  deserves  to 
be  left" 

Helen  rose  to  Elijah's  defense. 

"Not  intentionally  a  thief,  Ralph." 

Winston's  eyes  flamed  with  indignation. 

"He  isn't  an  open,  manly  thief  who  steals  and 
stands  up  to  his  act.  He  is  a  sneak  who  steals  and 
unloads  his  punishment  on  others." 

Winston's  words  smote  hard.  In  no  essential  did 
they  differ  from  those  she  had  spoken  to  Elijah. 

Winston  waited  for  a  moment,  watching  Helen 's 
face. 

"I  know  what  you  mean.  He  took  the  money 
from  Mellin  and  appropriated  it  to  his  own  use. 
He  got  you  involved  in  the  Pico  deal.  That  isn't 
an  open  crime.  It  is  a  sneaking,  cowardly  crime, 
in  that  he  is  forcing  you  to  bear  a  part  of  the 
odium." 

Helen's  voice  faltered,  but  her  eyes  did  not  leave 
Winston 's. 

"That  Pico  business  was  begun  before  the  Pa 
cific  failed.  You  are  wrong  there." 

"I  am  not  wrong,"  Winston  burst  in  hotly.  His 
indignation  waxed  against  Elijah.  "He  is  crooked 
from  the  crown  of  his  head  to  the  soles  of  his  feet. 
So  long  as  it  was  between  himself  and  me  I  could 
stand  it,  but  when  it  comes  to  you,  I  will  endure  it 

216 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

no  longer.  He  will  quit  or  I  will  break  him.  I  can 
and  I  will." 

"You  don't  know  all,  Ralph,  or  you  wouldn't 
say  that."  Helen's  voice  was  firmer. 

* '  I  do  know  all.  Don 't  I  know  that  he  has  given 
the  company  his  note,  or  pretended  to,  and  secured 
it  by  his  stock?" 

Helen's  eyes  were  on  Winston. 

"Do  you  know  this?"  She  was  honestly  in 
doubt.  Perhaps  Elijah  had  confided  in  Winston 
after  all. 

"I  have  not  seen  the  papers,  but  I  know  Elijah 
Berl.  He  has  stilled  his  conscience  without  sur 
rendering,  one  iota,  his  purpose.  This  note  and 
security  are  in  his  own  hands.  When  it  comes  to 
the  point,  he  will  find  a  new  way  to  quiet  what  he 
calls  his  conscience." 

"You  do  not  know  all,  Ralph.  You  are  unjust. 
This  has  gone  far  enough— too  far."  Helen  spoke 
coldly.  She  felt  compelled  to,  against  the  pleadings 
of  her  heart.  She  turned  and  began  to  move  away. 

XVinston's  hand  was  again  on  her  arm,  restrain 
ing  her.  She  tried  to  free  herself,  but  try  as  she 
would,  she  could  not  make  the  action  final. 

Winston's  hand  slipped  down  her  arm  till  her 
hand  rested  in  his. 

"Helen,  I  would  say  all  of  this  for  the  sake  of 
friendship  alone—" 

She  strove  tc  draw  her  hand  from  his. 

217 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Stop,  Ralph,  stop  right  there." 

"I  will  not."  Winston's  grasp  tightened,  he 
was  drawing  her  towards  him  in  spite  of  herself. 
"There  is  more  than  friendship,  Helen.  There  is 
love.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  much;  you  will  have 
to  let  me  teach  you." 

His  arm  was  around  her  now,  his  eyes  striving  to 
look  into  her  own.  The  pulse  of  his  words,  the 
light  of  his  eyes,  the  touch  of  his  hand,  there  was 
in  all  these  the  clear,  strong  definition  between 
mine  and  thine.  Mine  to  desire,  mine  to  ask,  mine 
to  plead  for  my  desires;  thine  to  give  or  to  with 
hold  that  which  is  all  and  more  than  all  to  me. 
My  heart,  my  life,  my  love;  thy  acceptance  of  my 
offering.  No  selfish  pleading,  no  imperative  de 
mand,  only  a  right  to  ask  in  undoubting  confidence 
that  which  it  was  hers  to  give  or  to  withhold.  She 
felt  his  breath  on  her  cheek,  the  warm  glow  of  his 
lips  nearer  and  nearer.  She  could  not  put  them 
away;  her  heart  cried  out  against  it.  Her  will  to 
resist,  to  act  as  her  conscience  dictated,  was  weak 
ening.  Only  to  be  at  rest,  as  she  was  resting  now, 
at  peace,  no  doubts,  no  fears ;  she  longed  for  what 
in  strength  of  mind  and  purity  of  heart  he  was 
offering  her. 

His  clasp  grew  closer.  Why  should  she  not  ac 
cept?  Her  senses  were  reeling  in  an  ecstasy  of 
surrender  that  gives  all  and  gains  all  in  the  giving. 
As  in  a  delicious  yet  terrifying  dream,  she  shrank 

218 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

closer  to  the  protecting  arms  that  would  shield  her 
forever. 

"Tell  me,  Helen,  that  you  love  me,  not  as  I  love 
you,  that  is  too  much  to  ask,  but  tell  me  that  you 
love  me." 

Her  lips  trembled  in  voiceless  reply.  How  she 
longed  to  speak  the  words  he  desired  her  to  utter. 
Why  could  she  not?  Then  her  eyes  opened  wide. 
Here  was  a  clean  heart  and  a  pure  life  at  her  feet, 
strong,  throbbing  words  pleading  with  her  to  accept 
the  offering.  What  had  she  to  give  in  return? 
What  was  she  about  to  give  ?  A  stained  heart ;  how 
deeply  stained  she  did  not,  could  not  know,  but 
stained,  in  exchange  for  a  pure  white  soul. 

She  tore  herself  from  his  arms  and  stood  before 
him,  her  hands  outstretched  against  him.  Her 
great  black  eyes  were  wide,  and  deep,  and  unfath 
omable.  Only  from  their  depths,  a  glow  of  longing 
love  shone  forth;  of  longing,  sorrowing  love,  of 
sorrow  for  herself  and  of  love  for  the  man  before 
her;  yet  love  controlled  by  a  will  as  strong  as  the 
strength  of  right  could  make  it. 

There  was  an  answering  light  in  the  eyes  that 
met  her  own.  In  them  was  pain  and  pleading,  but 
no  doubt.  His  hands  reached  out  to  hers  that  had 
put  him  away,  but  they  dropped  before  they 
touched. 

"Helen,  your  eyes  have  answered  me."     There 

219 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

was  a  deep  throb  of  exultation  in  his  voice.  ' '  But 
let  me  hear  you  speak. " 

She  stood  with  pale  face  and  laboring  breath. 
Her  voice  shook  with  the  intensity  of  her  emotion. 

"I  love  you,  Ralph.  More  than  I  can  tell  you 
in  a  lifetime,  I  love  you."  She  spoke  in  obedience 
to  a  power  beyond  her  will  to  control. 

Winston  sprang  toward  her,  but  her  hand  rested 
on  his  breast.  She  could  feel  the  strong,  even  throb 
of  his  heart  and  this  strengthened  her  will  to  resist. 

"Listen,  Ralph!"  Her  voice  was  intense  but 
low ;  every  word  pierced  like  pencils  of  light  in  deep 
waters.  "I  have  been  cruel,  mercilessly,  selfishly 
cruel.  I  longed  to  hear  you  say  what  you  have 
said.  All  my  life  I  shall  remember  it  as  a  penance 
for  the  wrong  I  have  done  you. '  ' 

"I  will  not  listen  to  such  words."  He  clasped 
the  hand  that  rested  on  his  breast,  but  she  tore  it 
away. 

"Don't  tempt  me  further,  Ralph." 

He  was  again  close  beside  her. 

"Tell  me  all,  Helen.  You  have  given  me  the 
right  to  know. ' ' 

"I  have  not,  I  cannot.  If  I  should  tell  you,  you 
would  despise  me.  If  I  granted  your  wish,  all  my 
life  I  should  loathe  myself." 

Ralph  stood  with  eyes  undoubting,  unconvinced, 
but  he  could  go  no  farther." 

"Is  it  forever,  Helen,  hopelessly  forever?" 

220 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Don't  ask  me,  Ralph,  but  forgive  me."  Her 
eyes  were  shining  with  unshed  tears.  "I  am  afraid 
it  is.  Will  you,  can  you  forgive  me?" 

Winston's  lips  set.  There  was  a  determination 
in  his  eyes  that  was  yet  softened  by  a  great  love. 

"I  have  nothing  to  forgive.  I  love  you  and  I 
shall  always  love  you.  Nothing  you  have  said  or 
can  say  will  change  it  or  weaken  it.  You  do  not 
see  clearly  now.  Some  time  you  will.  Then  I  shall 
claim  you  and  you  will  come  to  me." 

Helen  could  trust  herself  no  further,  nor  could 
she  still  the  throb  of  hope  his  words  had  kindled. 
Was  she  mistaken  after  all?  Was  her  sin  as  she 
saw  it,  but  a  gigantic  empty  shadow  resting  on  a 
vanishing  cloud  which  the  clear  light  of  reason 
would  melt  away?  There  had  been  conviction  in 
his  words,  "Sometime  you  will  see  clearly,  then 
you  will  come  to  me." 

She  was  to  outward  appearances  her  old  self  as 
she  mingled  once  more  with  the  visitors  on  the  way 
back  to  Ysleta.  The  enthusiastic  crowd  declared 
that  they  would  see  to  it  that  the  completion  of  the 
great  dam  was  duly  celebrated,  and  with  one  accord 
they  voted  that  Helen  was  to  swing  the  last  stone 
into  place.  Helen  objected,  but  to  no  purpose.  She 
was  told  that  it  had  all  been  arranged  between  them 
and  Winston. 


221 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-TWO 

Seymour  did  not  arrive  in  Ysleta  as  soon  as  Win 
ston  and  Uncle  Sid  had  expected,  yet  there  was  no 
doubt  that  he  had  heard  of  the  Pacific  failure 
and  the  consequent  loss  of  a  considerable  amount 
of  the  company's  funds.  There  was  also  no  doubt 
that  the  news  of  Elijah's  transactions  with 
Mellin  had  been  transmitted  to  him.  His  non- 
appearance  puzzled  them  somewhat,  but  the  fact 
that  he  had  communicated  with  no  one,  officially  at 
least,  partly  explained  the  situation  to  them.  It 
must  be  that  he  felt  perfectly  secure  and  was  tak 
ing  his  own  time  in  which  to  act.  Uncle  Sid  had 
not  been  ruffled  and  he  went  so  far  as  to  advise 
Winston  against  worry. 

"Seymour's  fixin'  things  to  do  when  he  gets  out 
here.  What's  time  for  him  is  time  for  us.  Let's 
you  an'  me  fix  up  things  while  he's  thinkin'  about 
it."  And  that  is  what  they  proceeded  to  do  and 
very  effectively. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  a  prosaic  wash-out  on  the 
line  had  prevented  Seymour's  bodily  presence  in 
Ysleta,  but  it  had  hampered  in  no  way  the  presence 
of  his  spirit,  nor  did  it  hamper  his  thoughts.  The 

222 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BEKL 

rumor  of  Elijah's  defalcation  had  not  disturbed 
Seymour  seriously.  He  imagined  he  knew  for  what 
purpose  the  money  had  been  diverted.  He  shrewd 
ly  guessed  that  it  had  been  spent  in  the  acquisition 
of  new  land.  This  was  not  displeasing,  for  the 
land  could  not  get  away  and  he  could  frighten 
Elijah  into  disgorging. 

Seymour  had  been  especially  attracted  by  Win 
ston.  In  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  he  had  resolved 
at  a  fitting  time  to  gather  that  young  man  to  him 
self.  His  intentions  were  not  born  of  purely  phil 
anthropic  motives,  for  experience  had  taught  him 
that  greater  heights  can  be  scaled  by  the  aid  of 
others  than  by  unassisted  efforts.  He  felt  sure  that 
no  one  in  California  knew  better  what  land  was 
worth  while  and  what  was  not,  than  Winston  and 
Elijah;  therefore,  he  again  concluded  that  his 
money  was  really  well  invested.  And  so  it  hap 
pened  that,  after  the  wash-out  had  been  repaired, 
he  placidly  resumed  his  journey. 

Meanwhile  Winston  and  Uncle  Sid  were  at  the 
Rio  Vista. 

"I  think,"  Winston  was  saying,  "that  that  wash 
out  has  saved  the  day." 

"I  bet  Mr.  Seymour's  been  studyin'  how  to  do 
things,  an*  while  he's  been  studyin',  we've  been 
an'  done  'em,  that  is,  pretty  near."  Uncle  Sid 
wheeled  around  in  his  chair  and  faced  Winston. 
"Have  you  seen  'Lige  lately?" 
223 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"No.  I'm  pretty  sure  that  he's  keeping  out  of 
sight  purposely.  I  can't  make  anything  out  of 
him  these  days.  He's  taking  an  unusual  amount 
of  interest  in  my  work  lately.  He's  been  from  one 
end  of  the  canal  line  to  the  other  and  I  don't  be 
lieve  that  there's  a  single  stone  or  a  shovelful  of 
dirt  in  the  whole  dam  that  he  doesn't  know  the 
size  of;  and  yet  I  never  run  across  him.  I  hear 
that  he's  giving  the  dam  his  especial  attention  just 
now. ' ' 

1 ' More  than  Helen?"  Uncle  Sid  looked  bluntly 
at  Winston. 

' '  Oh,  that  reminds  me. ' '  Winston  was  trying  to 
speak  indifferently.  "The  dam  will  be  finished 
next  week.  Helen  is  to  swing  the  last  stone  into 
position.  She  said  that  she  thought  you  would 
make  up  a  party  to  go  up  with  her." 

"You'll  start  the  first  of  the  week?  Yes,  I  guess 
I'll  go."  Uncle  Sid  was  certain  of  it. 

1 '  Then  I  '11  go  up  in  a  day  or  two  and  get  things 
ready  for  you.  The  gates  are  closed,  you  know, 
and  the  reservoir  is  nearly  full.  The  rains  in  the 
mountains  have  been  unusually  heavy  this  season. ' ' 

"How  are  you  makin'  out  with  Mellin?" 

Winston's  smile  was  not  pleasant  to  contemplate. 

"I've  got  him  all  done  but  the  finishing.  He 
talked  fight  when  I  left  him,  but  I  think  this  will 
take  it  out  of  him. ' '  Winston  held  out  a  bundle  of 

224 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

papers  to  Uncle  Sid.  "Do  you  want  to  look  them 
over?" 

Uncle  Sid  shook  his  head  as  he  pushed  the  papers 
aside. 

"I've  got  a  parcel  o'  papers  too.  Betwixt  the 
two  of  us,  I  guess  we  have  got  things  pretty  well 
straightened  out." 

"How  does  Helen  feel  about  it  now?" 

"She's  stickin'  to  'Lige  like  a  barnacle.  She 
says  that  'Lige  meant  all  right  an*  would  have  done 
all  right,  if  Eunice  an'  Mellin  had  let  him  alone. 
She  didn't  say  so,  but  I  guess  she  meant  she'd  a 
made  him,  herself." 

Winston's  expression  was  skeptical,  but  it  sof 
tened  as  he  answered. 

"She  would  have  tried,  all  right." 

"She  would  have  succeeded  too,  if  Eunice  had 
kept  out."  Uncle  Sid  spoke  with  unusual  em 
phasis.  "If  there's  anything  worth  savin'  in  a  man, 
a  good  woman's  bound  to  save  it.  Things  have  looked 
pretty  black  for  'Lige  an'  for  Helen  too,  but  they'll 
come  out  all  right.  I  don't  like  'Lige's  cat-a- 
waulin'  any  more  than  you  do,  an'  you  ain't  seen 
the  worst  o'  him  yet,  unless  I  miss  my  guess,  an' 
you  ain't  seen  the  best  o'  him,  neither.  I  can't  un- 
derstan'  everything  an'  so  I  take  some  things  on 
trust,  an'  I  want  to  tell  you  this,  Helen  Lonsdale 
ain't  the  kind  o'  fish  to  bite  on  a  bare  hook,  an'  she 
bit  hard  on  'Lige." 

225 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

" So  did  I.  That  is,  I  bit."  Winston  was  think 
ing  of  the  days  when  the  Las  Cruces  was  hair- 
hung.  He  was  straight  in  word  and  deed.  Right 
and  wrong  were  too  sharply  defined  in  his  mind 
to  allow  room  for  sympathy  towards  those  differ 
ently  constituted. 

"I  wish  the  whole  thing  was  over,"  he  burst  out 
impatiently.  "It  makes  me  boil  to  have  these 
Ysleta  sharks  looking  cross-eyed  at  me." 

Uncle  Sid  held  up  a  warning  hand. 

"Don't  think  o'  that,  young  man,  don't  think  o' 
that.  Just  think  how  much  worse  you'd  boil  if 
you  had  anything  to  boil  over.  You  go  along  now, 
an'  do  a  little  trustin'  that  counts.  You  needn't 
talk  about  who  you  are  trustin'  in,  but  'twon't  be 
any  less  appreciated  for  that." 


226 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FOUR 

After  leaving  the  Rio  Vista,  Winston  went  di 
rectly  to  the  office  of  the  Las  Cruces  company.  In 
spite  of  the  fact  that  he  knew  his  hope  was  beyond 
reason,  he  could  not  repress  a  thrill  of  excitement 
as  he  opened  the  door  and  entered  the  inner  office. 
His  first  glance  was  toward  Helen.  Elijah's  desk 
was  closed  and  his  chair  vacant  as  he  felt  sure  it 
would  be.  It  was  his  first  meeting  with  Helen 
since  she  had  left  him  on  the  mountain.  He  shrank 
from  the  formal  attitude  which  their  official  re 
lations  compelled  him  to  assume  and  to  which  he 
knew  Helen  would  strictly  hold  him.  Yet  there 
were  no  abstacles  to  the  exchange  of  assurances 
which  might  flash  between  their  meeting  eyes.  This 
was  all  he  asked  for,  all  he  could  hope  for  at 
present. 

"Has  Elijah  been  in  this  morning?'*  He  looked 
at  Helen  as  he  spoke. 

"No,  Ralph.  I  hardly  think  that  you  expected 
he  would  be."  Helen's  eyes  softened  for  a  mo 
ment  as  they  met  Winston's,  then  they  grew  for 
mal,  but  it  was  enough. 

"No,  I  didn't    I  only  hoped  that  he  might  be. 

227 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Have  you  any  idea  what  he  is  up  to?"  Winston's 
tone  was  cynical. 

Helen's  face  flushed  painfully. 

"You—"  she  began;  then  she  paused.  After 
all,  Elijah  was  to  blame.  Winston's  course  had 
been  as  straight  as  the  course  of  an  arrow. 

"I  am  a  whited  sepulcher.  That  is  what  you 
wanted  to  say,  isn't  it,  Helen?" 

"What  makes  you  think  so?" 

"Because  it's  just  what  I  am.  I  have  been  too 
hard  on  Elijah." 

"I  wish  you  had  said  something  like  this  before — 
before  it  was  too  late." 

'  *  Too  late  ? "  he  repeated.  ' '  What  do  you  mean  ? 
Have  you  heard  anything?"  His  face  was  anx 
ious. 

"No,  I  haven't.  I  only  know  that  Elijah  is 
thoroughly  convinced  that  you  have  turned  against 
him.  That,  and  other  troubles— Ralph,  no  man  can 
stand  the  strain  that  he  is  under  for  long." 

"You  know  Elijah  as  well  as  I  do,  perhaps  bet 
ter."  Winston  was  profoundly  agitated.  "I 
would  hunt  him  out  and  drag  him  home  at  once, 
if  it  were  not  for  one  thing." 

"And  that  is?"  Helen  waited  for  Winston  to 
continue.  She  knew  that  his  words  were  a  spoken 
thought,  rather  than  addressed  directly  to  her. 

"So  long  as  Seymour  remains  away,  no  one  can 
speak  with  assurance.  Elijah  knows  that.  He 

228 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

needs  to  feel  firm  ground  under  his  feet.  No  one 
can  put  it  there  now."  He  paused  a  moment,  then 
continued.  "I'll  do  my  best  to  straighten  it  out 
for  him.'* 

A  messenger  entered  the  office  and  handed  a  yel 
low  envelope  to  Winston.  He  read  the  message 
and  dismissed  the  boy. 

"Seymour  will  be  here  tomorrow.  We  will  soon 
be  in  a  position  to  set  Elijah  on  his  feet  I  hope." 
Winston  hesitated  a  moment,  then  went  on  de 
liberately.  "I  thought  of  having  Elijah  hunted 
up  at  once ;  but  now  I  think  it  will  be  best  to  wait. ' ' 
He  looked  questioningly  at  Helen. 

"I  think  you  are  right, "  she  replied  briefly. 

Winston  returned  to  the  Rio  Vista  and  went  di 
rectly  to  Uncle  Sid's  room. 

"Things  are  coming  to  a  climax. "  He  handed 
the  message  to  Uncle  Sid. 

The  old  man's  face  had  lost  its  humorous  look. 
His  sha.LTLry  eyebrows  were  lowered,  only  two  bright 
sparks  flashed  from  beneath  them,  steely  hard. 

"This  mess  is  in  a  fair  way  o'  bein'  settled  now, 
an'  it  ain't  a  minute  too  soon,  either.  'Lige  ain't 
goin'  to  stand  this  always." 

"What  had  we  better  do  first?" 

"You  know  Seymour.  Meet  him  at  the  train 
and  get  him  over  to  the  office  at  once.  I'll  be  there. 
I  think  we  can  settle  the  whole  business  in  an 

229 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

hour/'  Uncle  Sid's  face  relaxed  into  a  grim  smile. 
"He'll  have  to  come  to  our  terms." 

"The  main  thing,  after  all,  is  to  get  there,  and 
it  begins  to  look  as  if  we  had  done  it." 

There  was  a  surprise  to  both  in  their  immediate 
vicinity.  The  door  opened  without  ceremony  to 
admit  Mrs.  MacGregor.  She  was  still  in  traveling 
costume.  She  nodded  slightly  to  Winston,  who 
rose  as  if  to  leave  the  room.  Uncle  Sid  checked 
him. 

"You  stay  right  here,  Ralph." 

Mrs.  MacGregor  addressed  Uncle  Sid. 

"I  want  a  few  minutes  alone  with  you,  Sidney, 
on  business." 

"Me  an'  Ralph  are  about  as  near  one  as  they 
make  'em,  I  guess.  You  just  go  right  on  an'  un 
burden  your  mind." 

* '  The  business  to  which  I  refer  concerns  you  and 
me  alone." 

"Your  ward  and  Helen  Lonsdale  are  included, 
I  guess.  If  they  ain't,  you'll  have  to  wait.  If  they 
are,  you  go  right  on.  You  didn't  raise  enough 
money  in  Fall  Brook  to  push  you  out  of  the  Palm 
Wells  mess.  You  take  up  the  business  right  there." 

Mrs.  MacGregor  looked  at  Winston  with  as  much 
of  an  appeal  in  her  glance  as  she  could  compel  her 
self  to  make. 

Winston  settled  himself  even  more  firmly  in  his 
chair  in  compliance  with  Uncle  Sid's  request.  Mrs. 

230 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

MacGregor  did  not  attempt  to  conceal  her  annoy 
ance,  but  she  followed  her  brother's  suggestion  and 
came  to  the  point. 

"Yes,  I  did  fail  to  raise  the  money  in  Fall  Brook 
that  I  had  expected  to  raise  without  difficulty,  and 
I  fancy  I  know  why." 

Uncle  Sid  chuckled  with  evident  satisfaction. 

"Consequently,"  Mrs.  MacGregor  continued,  ig 
noring  her  brother's  interruption,"  the  Palm  Wells 
company  is  in  precisely  the  same  position  now 
that  it  was  when  I  left  for  the  East." 

"7  should  say  that  it  was  considerably  steadier 
on  its  legs  than  it  was.  What's  your  opinion,  Mr. 
Winston?" 

"I  should  say  so."  Winston  did  not  answer 
aggressively,  his  reply  was  perfunctory. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  ignored  Winston. 

"I  don't  know  what  you  mean,  Sidney." 

"Me'n  Ralph  knows.  It  ain't  necessary  you 
should  know." 

Mrs.  MacGregor's  patience  was  sorely  tried,  as 
Uncle  Sid  fully  intended  it  should  be,  but  she  gave 
no  visible  signs  of  annoyance  for  two  excellent  rea 
sons.  In  the  first  place,  a  display  of  emotion 
smacked  of  vulgarity;  in  the  second  place,  she  felt 
that  all  of  her  deep-laid  schemes  depended  upon 
her  perfect  self-control. 

' '  We  are  getting  nowhere,  Sidney.  Let  us  come 
to  the  point  at  once.  Our  company  is  temporarily 

231 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

embarrassed  and  I  feel  that  you  are  partially  re 
sponsible  for  my  not  raising  the  money  that  I  had 
expected,  so  I  am  coming  to  ask  you  to  help  us  out. 
Not  only  is  the  success  of  the  company  at  stake 
but  the  honor  of  our  family  name  as  well." 

She  would  have  gone  farther,  but  Uncle  Sid 
blazed  in.  He  was  quite  unhampered  by  the  fear 
of  the  vulgarity  of  displayed  emotions. 

* '  The  honor  of  our  name ! "  he  exploded.  *  *  What 
Harwood  in  three  hundred  years  was  ever  false  to 
a  trust?  What  Harwood  but  stood  still  in  his 
tracks  rather  than  even  look  at  a  crooked  path? 
What  Harwood  ever  used  the  weakness  of  his  neigh 
bor  for  his  own  good?" 

" Sidney!"     Mrs.   MacGregor's  voice  trembled. 

"Keep  still!  I'm  on  deck  now!"  Uncle  Sid 
bent  before  his  sister  and  shook  his  knotted  fingers 
in  her  face.  His  eyes  were  blazing,  his  face  rugose 
with  deep,  hard  lines. 

"Do  you  know  what  you've  done,  Eunice?  You 
saw  'Lige  Berl  stumblin'  betwixt  right  and  wrong, 
an'  for  the  sake  of  a  few  dirty  dollars  you  pushed 
him  over!  That's  what  you  did.  You  knew  what 
our  old  New  England  name  was  worth  to  a  man  like 
'Lige,  and  instead  o'  usin'  it  to  pull  him  out  o' 
the  mud,  you  used  it  to  push  him  in  deeper.  You 
congered  a  dyin'  woman  into  trustin'  her  daugh 
ter's  fortune  to  your  hands,  an'  you've  betrayed 
the  woman  an'  stole  her  daughter  deaf,  dumb  an' 

232 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

blind.  Now  you're  in  trouble,  you're  a  comin'  to 
me  to  keep  the  honor  o'  the  Harwood  name.  I 
wanted  to  keep  the  honor  o'  the  Harwood  name,  so 
I  called  on  this  young  man  to  help  me  an*  he's  done 
it,  because  the  same  good,  red  blood  is  soakin'  his 
bones  an'  muscles  as  has  soaked  the  bones  an'  mus 
cles  o'  the  Harwoods.  Betwixt  us,  we've  got  the 
company  out  o'  trouble,  an'  betwixt  us,  we  will 
keep  it  out.  We'll  get  you  out  o'  trouble  too,  and 
we'll  keep  you  out  o'  this!  Now  we're  goin'  to 
hunt  up  'Lige  an'  get  him  out  o'  trouble  too.  We 
hope  he  may  be  worth  it." 

Uncle  Sid  straightened  and  dashed  a  handker 
chief  over  his  swollen  face.  Mrs.  MacGregor  sat 
pale  and  silent.  When  Winston  began  to  speak, 
she  turned  to  him  with  lips  that  trembled  on  the 
verge  of  speech. 

44 1  deeply  regret  the  necessity  of  all  this,  Mrs. 
MacGregor,  but  there  is  no  other  way  except  before 
an  open  court."  Winston  briefly  but  clearly  set 
forth  the  status  of  the  Palm  Wells  company.  He 
assured  Mrs.  MacGregor  that  Mellin  had  been  ef 
fectually  and  forever  silenced,  and  in  confirmation 
of  his  words,  showed  Mellin 's  note,  from  which 
her  name  and  Elijah's  had  been  torn.  "Now  I 
am  going  to  ask  you  to  sign  these  papers ;  this  done, 
the  last  obstacle  will  be  removed  from  your 
brother's  path." 

"Suppose  I  refuse?" 

233 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Winston's  face  set. 

* '  I  advise  you  not  to. ' ' 

Mrs.  MacGregor  held  out  her  hand  for  the  pa 
pers.  She  affixed  her  name  where  Winston  in 
dicated. 

' < What  next?' 

Uncle  Sid  answered. 

' 'There's  nothin'  more  to  keep  you  in  California. 
Just  go,  an'  when  you  want  money  within  reason, 
let  me  know." 

Mrs.  MacGregor  rose  and  turned  to  the  door 
that  led  to  her  room.  Winston  was  before  her  and 
held  the  door  ajar,  closing  it  behind  her;  then  he 
faced  Uncle  Sid.  The  old  man  approached  him 
and  laid  a  clumsy  but  affectionate  hand  on  his 
shoulder. 

"I  ain't  worth  a  cuss  at  quotin'  scripture,  but  it 
strikes  me  that  it  ain't  every  one  who's  yappin' 
'Lord,  Lord,'  as  gets  into  heaven.  Now  you  go 
below  an'  tomorrow  we'll  lay  alongside  o'  Sey 
mour.  ' ' 


234 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FOUR 

Winston  was  at  his  post  when  the  great  "Over 
land  Express"  rolled  into  the  station  at  Ysleta, 
with  clanging  bell  and  coughing  air-pump  and  daz 
zled  sunbeams  dancing  from  its  varnish. 

Winston  was  an  engineer  and  he  was  not  imper 
vious  to  a  stimulating  thrill  at  the  exhibition  of 
power  and  progress  of  which  the  train  was  a  type, 
from  the  ponderous,  six-wheeled  locomotive,  to  the 
last  car  of  the  shining  train  that  it  dragged.  This 
thrill  did  not  interfere  with  business  and  he  had 
imperative,  pressing  business  on  hand.  His  quick 
eye  singled  out  the  man  for  whom  he  was  waiting 
and  almost  as  quickly  he  was  by  his  side. 

"Good  morning,   Mr.   Seymour." 

Without  any  haste,  Seymour's  grip  was  in  his 
hand,  and  with  no  conscious  volition  on  his  part, 
Seymour  was  threading  his  way  at  Winston's  side 
through  the  throng  of  disembarking  passengers, 
those  waiting  for  incoming  friends,  curious  loaf 
ers,  and  rattling  express  trucks. 

"Have  you  had  breakfast?"  Winston  hardly 
paused,  as  they  left  the  station  and  came  out  upon 
the  gravelly,  palm-fringed  walk. 

235 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Yes,  and  a  good  one  too.  The  dining  service 
has  improved.  Couldn't  do  much  better  in  New 
York." 

"That's  a  good  deal  for  a  New  Yorker  to  say. 
It 's  worth  money  to  the  road ;  at  least,  it  would  be 
if  they  got  hold  of  it." 

"What's  the  program  for  today?"  Mr.  Seymour 
dropped  pleasantries. 

* '  If  you  're  not  tired,  we  '11  go  to  the  office  at  once. 
They  are  expecting  us." 

"Will  Mr.  Berl  be  there?" 

"No.    Not  today." 

"Hasn't  he  been  notified." 

"No." 

"Why?"  Seymour  asked  sternly. 

"This,  and  much  more,  will  come  out  at  the 
meeting." 

As  Seymour  swung  along  beside  Winston,  there 
was  a  meditative  smile  on  his  face.  He  was  not 
accustomed  to  receiving  curt  answers  to  his  in 
quiries.  He  had  been  watching  Winston  narrowly, 
and  his  first  favorable  impressions  were  being; 
strengthened.  Besides,  he  had  lost  no  confidence  in 
his  own  ability  to  take  care  of  himself.  They 
reached  the  office  and  entered. 

Winston  handed  Seymour's  grip  to  a  waiting 
boy,  and,  without  further  ceremony,  entered  the 
private  room.  Uncle  Sid  and  Helen  were  already 
there. 

236 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"Mr.  Seymour,  I  think  you  have  met  Miss  Lons- 
daleT" 

Seymour  greeted  Helen  with  conventional  affa 
bility;  she  was  conscious  of  a  piercing,  though  mo 
mentary,  glance  that  seemed  to  read  every  nook 
of  her  soul. 

"  Captain  Harwood,  shake  hands  with  Mr.  Sey 
mour."  Winston  made  use  of  the  hearty  Western 
formula. 

"Pleased  to  do  so,  Senner." 

"Senner"  was  Uncle  Sid's  version  of  the  stately 
Spanish  sefior,  which  had  greatly  taken  his  fancy. 
Neither  the  cordial  "senner,"  nor  the  beaming 
smile,  hid  from  Seymour  the  rectangular  lines  of 
the  wrinkled  face. 

The  party  seated  themselves,  and  before  there 
was  a  suggestion  of  an  embarrassing  pause,  Uncle 
Sid  broke  in.  His  glance  shot  from  face  to  face 
then  rested  on  Winston. 

"We're  cleared  for  action.  Mr.  Winston,  it's 
your  watch." 

Seymour  glanced  appreciatively  at  Uncle  Sid. 

"You're  naval,  I  see." 

"Aye,  aye,  sir;  from  main  truck  to  orange 
groves." 

Winston  began  to  speak.  There  was  neither 
haste  nor  deliberation. 

"There  is  no  use  in  preliminaries.  I  take  it,  Mr. 
Seymour,  that  what  brought  you  out  here,  was  the 

237 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

theft  of  the  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  the  company's 
money  ? ' ' 

Seymour  nodded  curtly  to  Winston's  question. 
Winston  resumed. 

'  *  There 's  no  use  calling  it  by  a  softer  name ;  but 
I  submit  that  there  were  modifying  circumstances 
which  may  appeal  to  you.  Miss  Lonsdale  will  sub 
mit  them;  Mr.  Berl  will  not  be  here.  No  one 
knows  exactly  where  he  is.  I  am  sure  that  he  took 
the  money  without,  at  the  time,  realizing  fully  what 
his  act  would  be  called.  I  think  I  am  right  in  say 
ing  that  he  is  driven  to  desperation,  now  that  he 
is  brought  face  to  face  with  his  own  interpretation 
of  what  he  has  done.  If  you  insist,  I  am  confident 
that  he  can  be  found  within  twenty-four  hours, 
and  that  he  will  come  here  of  his  own  accord,  but 
I  hope  that  you  will  not  insist  upon  this  step. 
When  I  find  him,  I  want  to  be  able  to  tell  him  ex 
actly  what  he  is  to  expect. ' ' 

Without  comment,  Seymour  turned  to  Helen. 

"What  are  the  modifying  circumstances?" 

Without  a  quaver,  Helen  met  Seymour's  pierc 
ing  glance.  She  was  alive  to  the  fact  that  a  single 
false  step  might  mean  ruin  to  Elijah,  but  she  did 
not  fear. 

"For  years,  Mr.  Berl  has  studied  the  conditions 
of  orange  growing,  not  only  in  this  country,  but  in 
others.  Previous  to  the  organization  of  the  Las 
Cruces  company,  he  began  a  series  of  investigations 

238 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

as  to  the  ranges  of  temperature.  These  investiga 
tions  were  not  completed  at  the  time  this  company 
was  formed,  farther  than  this.  He  had  found  that 
the  greater  part  of  the  lands  now  held  by  the  Las 
Cruces  were  in  a  belt  where  the  temperature  never 
went  to  freezing.  He  did  not  then  know  how  much 
more  extensive  the  belt  was.  At  that  time  he  trans 
ferred  every  foot  of  land  which  he  controlled. " 
Helen  paused,  looking  at  Seymour.  He  appeared 
politely  patient,  questioning  the  bearing  of  her 
words.  She  resumed. 

"From  this  time  he  did  not  act  alone,  nor  was  he 
alone  responsible  for  what  was  done.  In  my  ca 
pacity  of  secretary,  I  discovered,  what  he  did  not 
tell  you  of,  that  is,  the  frostless  belt.  From  maps, 
I  found  that  the  belt  reached  into  territory  not 
owned  by  the  company,  and  I  brought  these  facts 
to  his  notice.  Whether  rightly  or  not,  this  does 
not  matter,  he  feared  that  I  or  others  would  make 
use  of  this  knowledge.  This  fear  led  him  to  act  at 
once  without  consulting  the  wishes  of  the  company. 
There  were  movements  on  foot  to  secure  this  tract 
without  knowledge  of  its  special  value,  simply  for 
its  speculative  value.  Mr.  Berl  acted  at  once.  At 
this  time  the  Pacific  Bank  failed,  and  the  fifty 
thousand  dollars  saved  to  the  company  through  his 
influence,— I  don't  pretend  to  defend  this,— was 
used  by  him  for  the  purchase  of  the  Pico  ranch. 

239 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"One  moment/'  Seymour  interrupted.  "Did 
Mr.  Berl  intend  to  restore  this  money?" 

"I  can  only  give  you  facts,  Mr.  Seymour,  not 
opinions." 

"Very  well.  But  from  your  own  showing,  if 
other  parties  had  secured  this  property,  we  would 
have  had  the  revenue  from  the  sale  of  the  water  and 
our  money  beside." 

"I  don't  think  that  follows.  But  the  actual  fact 
is,  that  other  parties  did  not  get  this  tract  and  that 
Mr.  Berl  did." 

"Has  Mr.  Berl  got  it  now?" 

"He  has  not." 

Uncle  Sid  interrupted. 

"I  expect  I  can  contribute  some  facts,  Senner. 
The  truth  is,  your  company  would  have  been  fifty 
thousand  dollars  out,  if  it  hadn't  been  for  'Lige 
Berl,— I  don't  defend  him,  either.  As  it  is,  you've 
got  a  bank  account  fatter  than  it  was,  an'  I'm 
owner  o'  the  Pico  ranch." 

"And  our  money  having  been  risked  without 
our  consent,  you  are  getting  the  sole  benefit  of  it?" 
Seymour's  voice  was  biting. 

"That's  just  as  you  say,  Senner.  I'm  goin'  to 
let  in  a  few  others,  Helen  an'  Ralph,  an'  we've  no 
objections  to  you  if  you  want  to  come  in." 

Seymour's  face  flushed  angrily.  He  mistook  the 
kindly  old  man's  offer  for  a  bribe. 

240 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"I've  made  money,  but  I've  made  it  honestly, 
not  by  taking  bribes." 

Uncle  Sid's  face  grew  purple.  His  eyes  shone 
from  a  maze  of  deep,  hard  lines. 

"Look  here,  Mr.  Seymour,  I've  got  a  name 
reachin'  back  three  hundred  years.  You  just  shin 
up  your  jenny-logical  tree  an'  shake  out  your  an 
cestors,  an'  I'll  match  'em  as  they  fall,  hides,  an' 
horns,  an'  taller,  an'  what's  more,  if  they  line  up 
better 'n  mine,  I'll  go  along  where  you're  more 
than  half  minded  to  send  'Lige." 

Seymour  was  quick  in  thought  and  quick  in  ac 
tion.  He  saw  that  he  had  been  mistaken.  A  kindly, 
if  somewhat  cynical,  smile  softened  his  face. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  Captain.  I  won't  put  you 
to  that  trouble." 

"No  trouble  at  all,  Senner,  if  'twill  ease  you  up 
any."  Uncle  Sid's  face  relaxed. 

"I  think  you  have  all  of  the  essential  facts,  Mr. 
Seymour,"  AVinston  began.  "Mr.  Berl  took  fifty 
thousand  dollars  of  the  company's  money.  It  has 
been  returned.  According  to  the  strict  interpreta 
tion  of  the  law,  this  restitution  does  not  free  Mr. 
Berl  from  its  penalties.  If  you  fail  to  prosecute, 
it  will  have  the  appearance  of  compounding  a 
felony ;  that  is,  if  Mr.  Berl  took  the  money  with  no 
intention  of  restoring  it.  Whether  hr  had  such  in 
tentions,  no  one,  not  even  Elijah  himself,  can  prove 
before  the  law.  The  question  is,  whether  we  will 

241 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

prosecute  Mr.  Berl,  or  whether  we  will  forgive  the 
past,  and  try  to  restore  him  to  himself." 

Winston  looked  fixedly  at  Seymour.  There  was 
an  anxious  hush  as  he  ceased  speaking.  Seymour 
rested  motionless  with  his  eyes  on  the  floor.  At 
last  he  looked  up. 

"When  I  started  out  here,  it  was  with  the  full 
expectation  of  finding  you  all  more  or  less  in 
volved  in  this  business.  From  what  I  have  seen 
and  heard  since  I  have  been  in  this  office,  I  am  pre 
pared  to  say,  without  reservation,  that  my  suspi 
cions  were  groundless.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned, 
Mr.  Berl  is  a  free  man  with  no  shadow  of  fear.  This 
affair  can  be  kept  strictly  to  ourselves  with  no  in 
justice  to  any  one.  We  will  consider  this  episode 
in  our  history  closed  once  and  for  all." 

Uncle  Sid's  face  was  wreathed  in  smiles. 

"I  want  to  beg  your  pardon,  Senner.  You  make 
me  think  of  these  prickly  pears  out  here.  They're 
mighty  fine  eatin'  when  you  get  the  spines  off  'em." 


242 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIVE 

The  fact  that  the  way  of  the  transgressor  is 
hard,  was  being  ground  into  the  shrinking  soul  of 
Elijah.  As  yet,  the  grinding  was  of  no  avail  be 
cause  he  refused  to  recognize  that  he  was  a  trans 
gressor.  For  years  he  had  dreamed,  and  worked, 
and  planned,  and  in  it  all  he  had  been  alone.  Men 
would  have  called  it  alone,  but  not  so  Elijah.  The 
Lord  was  with  him.  At  least  this  was  his  fanatical 
belief.  Alone,  or  with  the  still,  small  voice,  not 
always  interpreted  aright,  he  had  with  infinite 
patience  dreamed  his  dreams,  wrought  out  his 
tasks  as  they  came  to  him,  and  still  alone,  he  had 
seen  them  shaping  to  a  definite  end.  He  had,  like 
a  solitary  player,  shuffled  his  cards,  had  dealt  them 
and  played  in  strict  accordance  with  the  game  or 
modified  them  at  will,  and  there  was  no  one  to  say 
him  nay.  Even  Amy  had  strengthened  this  grow 
ing  habit  of  looking  upon  himself,  his  will  and  his 
desires  as  infallible. 

Unconsciously  he  had  carried  this  inflexible  atti 
tude  of  mind  into  the  game,  when  necessity  had 
comprlii'd  him  to  admit  partners.  II«-  i-.-mtcd  tho 
insistence  of  others,  that  they  should  be  considered 

243 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

as  having  rights  equal  to  his  own.  He  demanded 
unconditional  surrender,  implicit  obedience  to  his 
will.  He  reasoned  with  a  sophistical  show  of  right 
that  the  great  idea  was  his,  that  what  he  gave  was 
given  in  the  fullness  of  his  heart,  and  that  it  was 
only  base  ingratitude  that  prompted  the  recipients 
to  oppose  and  thwart  him. 

Winston  had  opposed  and  thwarted  him  in  a 
thousand  details,  and  though  Elijah  had  outwardly 
yielded,  he  had  not  essentially  changed,  though  he 
was  learning  many  lessons.  He  had  learned  to  dis 
tinguish  between  what  Winston  would  accept 
and  what  he  would  reject,  but  involuntarily  and 
unconsciously  there  was  growing  up  within  him  a 
burning  hatred  of  Ralph  Winston.  There  was  a 
seeming  lack  of  sympathy  in  the  rugged  integrity 
of  Winston  that  clove  through  the  heart  of  things. 
Winston  knew  only  north  and  south.  If  a  needle 
swung  to  these  points,  it  was  right ;  if  it  did  not,  it 
was  wrong,  and  he  had  no  use  for  it. 

Elijah  was  growing  jealous  of  Winston.  He 
said  nothing,  but  he  noticed  that,  in  the  field 
especially,  and  to  a  certain  extent  in  the  office,  de 
tails  were  more  and  more  referred  to  Winston,  even 
by  Helen.  Winston's  name  was  on  every  tongue. 
It  seemed  to  Elijah  as  if  profit,  and  honor,  and 
prestige  were  slipping  from  him  and  falling  upon 
Winston.  He  was  being  defrauded.  It  never  oc 
curred  to  him  that  Winston's  complete  surrender 

244 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

of  heart,  and  soul  and  mind  to  the  successful  ful 
filment  of  his  dreams,  all  testified  far  more  strongly 
than  honeyed  words  of  praise  to  the  worthiness 
of  the  idea  which  he  had  conceived. 

He  had  turned  to  Helen  Lonsdale.  With  no  less 
ru.irged  ideas  of  right  and  wrong,  they  had  been 
clouded  in  Helen  with  the  dangerous  sympathy  of 
a  woman's  heart.  With  sympathy,  Helen  had  sof 
tened  the  blows  she  had  dealt  him.  To  a  certain  ex 
tent  she  had  kept  him  right,  but  because  the  blows 
had  not  pained,  they  lacked  a  compelling  power. 
Her  intuition,  stimulated  by  her  belief  in  him,  in 
his  essential  greatness,  had  been  quick  to  detect 
every  changing  mood;  in  her  womanly  sympathy, 
her  efforts  to  soothe  and  comfort  had  been  un 
stinted. 

In  spite  of  all  condemning  appearances,  these  in 
fluences  were  having  an  unconscious  effect  for 
good  upon  Elijah,  until  the  advent  of  Mrs.  Mac- 
Gregor.  She  nursed  his  sense  of  wrong,  stimulated 
his  belief  in  himself,  fed  his  morbidly  craving  soul 
with  honeyed  food  that  fattened  it  for  the  hand 
of  the  slayer. 

Yet  Mrs.  MacGregor  had  missed  her  mark.  She 
had  counted  upon  a  possible  sometime  awakening 
of  Elijah,  but  before  the  awakening  she  had  in 
tended  to  have  him  fully  in  her  power.  She  had 
not  reckoned  at  its  full  value  the  impatient  greed 
of  Elijah ;  she  had  not  reckoned  on  the  womanhood 

245 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

of  Helen  Lonsdale  which,  though  struggling  in  a 
fog  of  sinister  influences,  never  lost  consciousness 
of  its  own  identity. 

When,  on  the  morning  of  his  declaration  to 
Helen,  Elijah  left  the  office,  it  was  as  one  stricken 
with  a  numbing  wound.  He  was  not  conscious  of 
its  meaning,  only  of  the  sickening  absence  of  pain 
which,  coupled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  wound, 
filled  him  with  an  unknown  terror.  As  the  mean 
ing  of  it  all  slowly  dawned  upon  him,  the  sting 
ing,  biting  pain  played  full  upon  every  tingling 
nerve.  He  became  filled  with  blind,  ungovernable, 
impotent  rage.  He  raged  against  himself,  against 
Helen,  against  Mrs.  MacGregor.  He  would  have 
returned  to  the  office  at  once;  what  darker  crime 
he  might  have  committed,  only  imagination  can  sug 
gest,  but  return  was  impossible.  When  the  thought 
came  to  him,  he  was  far  beyond  Ysleta,  surrounded 
by  desert  sands  that  dragged  at  his  feet  till  physical 
exertion  was  no  longer  possible.  Burning  with 
thirst,  weakened  by  hunger,  he  threw  himself  upon 
the  hot  sands  and  watched  with  unconscious  eyes 
the  fierce  sun  sink  into  the  Pacific. 

It  was  here  that  a  wandering  vaquero  chanced 
upon  him.  The  simple  Mexican  knew  naught  of 
the  delirium  born  of  a  frenzied  mind,  but  he  knew 
the  delirium  of  blood  thirst  that  lack  of  water 
brings  upon  the  desert  wanderer.  With  this  knowl 
edge  and  belief,  he  carried  Elijah  to  his  hut  and 

246 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

nursed  him  back  to  life.  If  the  strange  senor 
chose  to  call  upon  the  names  of  men  and  women 
whom  he  knew  not,  that  was  the  senor 's  privilege, 
and  it  was  his  duty  as  a  host  to  patter  softly  with 
bare  feet  on  the  dirt  floor,  and  to  bind  the  hot 
forehead  with  herbs  which  the  desert  gave. 
It  was  his  duty  as  a  host  to  bind  with  thongs  the 
raving  senor  to  his  raw-hide  couch,  lest  he  should 
once  more  go  out  into  the  desert  before  his  strength 
had  returned. 

As  consciousness  began  to  return  to  Elijah,  his 
sense  of  injury  took  another  form.  He  had  been 
for  several  days  in  the  Mexican's  hut  and  no  one 
had  called  for  him  or  inquired.  After  all  he  had 
done  for  others,  they  had  left  him,  turned  from 
him  in  heartless  ingratitude,  in  this  his  hour  of 
need.  He  raged  against  Helen  especially,  but  his 
rage  changed  first  to  an  intense  longing,  then  to  a 
determination  to  see  her  again. 

Toward  the  evening  of  the  fifth  day,  he  prevailed 
upon  the  Mexican  to  drive  him  to  Ysleta.  At  the 
Rio  Vista,  having  gone  to  his  room,  he  called  a 
servant  and  sent  him  with  a  message  to  Helen. 
She  was  not  to  be  found.  At  the  office  he  learned 
that  Helen  had  gone  out  to  the  works  and  would 
be  absent  for  several  days.  He  would  have  fol 
lowed,  but  he  dared  not.  Her  last  words,  the  last 
look  that  he  remembered  so  clearly,  these  told  him 
only  too  plainly  that  she  would  not  be  forced,  that 

247 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

—he  dared  think  no  further.  He  must  work  on 
her  sympathy  through  an  appeal.  He  returned  to 
his  room  at  the  hotel  and  found  what  he  had  over 
looked  before,  a  package  of  papers  on  his  table. 
They  had  been  sent  over  from  the  office.  A  slip  of 
paper  in  Helen's  writing,  ''Elijah  Berl,  Rio  Vista." 
He  tore  the  string  from  the  bundle  in  feverish 
haste.  His  fingers  trembled  as  he  shuffled  the  letters 
one  by  one.  Not  one  was  in  Helen's  hand.  Again 
and  again  he  went  over  them,  then  he  gave  up  in 
despair. 

With  infinite  patience,  the  Almightly  has  taught 
us  by  precept  and  example,  that  our  destinies  are 
in  our  own  hands ;  that  the  punishment  for  failure 
that  comes  to  us,  is  self-inflicted,  and  not  from  him, 
when  in  blind  despair,  we  thrust  aside  a  redemp 
tion  that  is  waiting  to  make  us  whole.  The  smitten 
rock  that  quenched  the  thirst  of  Israel,  the  parted 
sea  that  gave  them  a  way  to  safety,  the  column  of 
smoke  that  reached  into  the  day,  the  pillar  of  fire 
that  made  the  darkness  light,  these  may  be  fables; 
but  they  speak  with  a  voice  that  cannot  be  stilled, 
telling  us  that  in  ages  past,  as  in  the  present,  an 
eye  that  sleeps  not,  watches  over  us;  that  hope 
is  for  us  if  we  will. 

Among  the  discarded  letters,  was  one  from  Win 
ston.  It  told  of  the  plucked  fangs  of  Mellin,  of 
Uncle  Sid's  restoration  of  the  stolen  money,  of  the 

248 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

nuvting  with  Seymour.  It  ended,  "Come  back, 
old  man,  we  want  you." 

Late  as  was  the  hour  when  Elijah  at  last  turned 
from  his  unopened  letters,  he  rang  for  a  servant 
and  ordered  a  carriage  to  take  him  to  his  ranch. 
He  could  not  go  to  the  dam;  the  thought  of  idly 
waiting  at  the  hotel  was  unendurable.  He  wanted 
to  see  some  one,  he  must  see  some  one.  He  had  de 
liberately  put  Amy  from  him ;  but  she  did  not  know 
this.  The  black  heartlessness  of  his  proposed  action 
did  not  once  occur  to  him.  Before  leaving  the  hotel 
lu1  wrote  an  appeal  to  Helen.  He  told  her  where 
he  was  going  and  that  he  would  wait  her  answer. 

At  the  ranch,  he  found  Amy  as  of  old.  Eager, 
questioning  hope  leaped  to  her  eyes  as  they  rested 
on  his  face;  then  the  hope  died  out  to  the  dumb, 
patient  waiting;  the  dumb,  patient  suffering  of  an 
animal  that  endures  without  question,  without  re 
sentment.  Through  the  long  days  that  followed, 
she  did  her  best  to  draw  him  from  himself,  from  the 
fires  that  were  consuming  him.  It  was  in  vain. 
In  vain,  when  she  found  him  seated  with  his  eyes 
fastened  on  the  dusty  trail  from  Ysleta,  she  slipped 
her  hand  in  his  and  nestled  close  to  him,  inviting 
confidences  that  were  never  given,  tendering  sym 
pathy  that  was  not  accepted,  assuring  him  of  un 
swerving  confidence  that  nothing  and  no  one  could 
destroy. 

He  let  no  opportunity  pass  to  send  other  appeals 

249 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

to  Helen,  but  these  too  were  unanswered.  One  day 
a  messenger  came.  Elijah  did  not  wait,  but  rushed 
to  meet  him.  The  message  was  not  from  Helen. 
Instead,  a  telegram.  Mechanically  he  signed  the 
receipt  which  the  messenger  held  out;  then  he 
opened  the  envelope.  The  message  was  in  cipher, 
but  he  knew  each  symbol.  The  messenger  looked  at 
him  inquiringly.  Elijah  shook  his  head,  "No 
answer,"  and  the  messenger  rode  away. 

It  did  not  matter  to  Elijah  that  the  message  was 
over  a  week  old;  the  message  itself  was  sufficient. 
"Have  failed  to  raise  the  money.  I  start  for  Cali 
fornia  to-morrow." 

Elijah  felt  that  his  return  to  Ysleta  was  hope 
lessly  barred.  Mrs.  MacGregor  was  there  now, 
Seymour  was  there,  Helen  was  there.  Like  sneak 
ing  jackals,  they  were  ready  to  fall  upon  him, 
wounded  to  the  death.  They  would  not  leave  him 
in  peace.  They  would  not  leave  him  in  peace  even 
with  what  was  his  own.  Nothing  was  left  him  but 
vengeance;  how  could  he  compass  it? 

Like  the  white  flash  of  a  thunderbolt,  the  trans 
action  with  Mellin  came  to  him.  Its  sinister  condi 
tion— "within  three  months  after  the  water  shall 
have  been  turned  into  the  main  canal  of  the  Las 
Cruces"— danced  before  his  eyes.  The  words  were 
clear  and  minatory,  but  there  was  a  hidden  mean 
ing  that  he  could  not  catch,  that  was  pointing  the 
way  of  deliverance.  He  strained  forward  as  if  to 

250 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

listen  more  clearly.  The  swollen  veins  on  his  fore 
head  throbbed  and  beat;  then  he  sprang  to  his 
feet— 

"As  God  lives,  that  water  shall  not  be  turned 
on!" 

The  sun  had  set  and  darkness  was  falling,  but 
day  and  night  were  alike  to  Elijah  now.  He  was 
at  the  gates  of  the  canal  at  the  mouth  of  the  canon. 
The  roar  of  the  Sangre  de  Cristo  was  gone,  only 
a  trickle  of  water  slipped  by  blackened  boulders 
and  gurgled  as  it  fell  into  tiny  pools,  then  wimpled 
and  slid  out  toward  the  desert.  Up  through  the 
trail  that  led  to  the  dam,  darkened  by  dense  ever 
greens  to  a  deeper  shadow,  he  rode  wildly.  In  the 
shadow  of  a  great  rock,  he  looked  down  upon  the 
still  rising  water,  black  with  depth.  He  saw  the 
great  tubes  let  in  at  the  base,  the  wheels  by  which 
the  gates  were  controlled,  the  wide,  rock-paved 
waste  weir  that,  leading  from  the  reservoir,  gave 
into  the  canon  below.  He  noted  the  broken  earth, 
the  clinging  trees  that  hung  over  the  weir.  1 1  is 
eyes,  calculating,  merciless,  rested  on  the  trees.  A 
gleam  of  triumph  came  to  them.  If  the  wheels 
were  broken,  the  gates  could  not  be  opened,  and 
the  water  was  even  now  trickling  over  the  weir.  In 
a  day  or  two,  the  whole  volume  of  the  Sangre  de 
Cristo  would  pour  through  it.  Just  a  little  powder 
behind  the  retaining  wall,  and  the  whole  bank 
would  fall  and  choke  the  weir.  Just  a  few  hours 

251 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

and,  the  weir  choked,  the  gates  unopened,  the  whole 
volume  of  the  river  would  creep  over  the  coping  of 
the  dam,  pick  out  grain  by  grain  the  unprotected 
earth,  till  the  dam  weakened,  the  mighty  mass  of. 
stored  water  would  rush  in  devastating  waves  down 
through  the  canon,  and  the  canal  would  be  as  if 
it  had  never  been.  The  dream  of  a  life,  the  labor  of 
years,  these  lay  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand. 

Why  should  he  pity  others  who  were  pitiless  to 
him?  What  mattered  it,  if,  like  Samson  of  old,  he 
should  drag  down  the  very  pillars  of  the  structure 
he  had  raised  ?  What  mattered  it,  if  he  too  should 
perish  in  the  ruins? 


252 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SIX 

The  party  that  had  gathered  to  see  the  last 
stone  of  the  great  Sangre  de  Cristo  dam  swung  into 
position  was  far  larger  than  Winston  had  expected. 
Elijah  was  not  among  them.  Winston  had  spared 
no  effort  to  find  Elijah  and  to  deliver  to  him  an 
other  message  to  the  effect  that  he  was  once  more 
a  free  man.  Messengers  had  been  sent  to  his  ranch ; 
but  he  had  left  home  and  Amy  had  not  seen  him 
for  several  days ;  she  supposed  him  to  be  in  Ysleta. 
Parties  had  scoured  the  mountain  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  dam,  but  in  vain.  It  was  clear  that  Elijah  was 
purposely  in  hiding  and  that  the  exercises  at  the 
dam  must  be  carried  on  without  him. 

Ysleta  was  largely  represented.  Winston  was  at 
first  surprised,  then  deeply  grateful  for  the  genuine 
interest  which  even  the  wildest  boomers  displayed  in 
his  work.  As,  one  by  one,  in  pairs  or  in  groups, 
they  took  him  cordially  by  the  hand,  congratulated 
him  on  the  successful  completion  of  a  great  piece 
of  work,  compared  the  lasting  utility  of  his  work 
with  their  own  ephemeral  and  selfish  efforts,  a  wave 
of  self-reproach  swept  over  him.  These  were  the 
people  whom,  in  season  and  out,  he  had  condemned 

253 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

as  greedy,  selfish,  unprincipled  sharks.  For  the 
first  time  in  his  life,  he  began  to  realize  the  fact 
that,  even  in  the  worst  of  humanity,  there  is  a  soul 
of  goodness,  a  soul  that  is  only  obscured,  never  ex 
tinguished.  In  deep  contrition,  he  reviewed  his 
attitude  of  mind  toward  Elijah.  He  saw  him  in  a 
new  light,  the  light  of  kindliness  that  was  radiating 
from  those  whose  hearts  he  had  condemned  as  black 
with  unscrupulous  greed.  He  pictured  Elijah, 
shunning  his  fellow  men  like  a  hunted  animal,  the 
warmth  of  his  good  intentions  changed  to  the  bit 
ing  flame  of  bitter  resentment  against  those  who 
were  to  profit  by  his  success,  and  who  had  turned 
from  him  at  sight  of  the  first  shadow  that  had 
fallen  upon  him.  He  reproached  himself  for  not 
having  gone  directly  to  Elijah  on  the  first  suspicion 
of  defalcation,  for  not  having  pointed  out  to  him 
his  error,  for  not  having  pleaded  with  him  to  face 
the  consequences  of  his  wrong  doing,  to  endeavor 
to  set  himself  right.  He  contrasted  his  self-right 
eous  conduct  with  that  of  Helen  Lonsdale,  her 
readiness  to  stand  by  Elijah,  to  assume  her  own 
share  of  blame  for  Elijah's  mistaken  actions.  He 
had  assumed  that,  because  certain  of  Elijah's  ac 
tions  had  been  criminal,  Elijah  was  a  criminal  by 
instinct,  and  he,  a  friend,  an  intimate  business 
associate,  had  treated  him  as  one,  but  made  no  ef 
fort  at  reclamation. 
Winston's  was  not  an  emotional  nature,  but  the 

254 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed,  played  upon 
his  calmly  balanced  mind,  until  he  saw  his  own  self- 
righteous  errors  and  condemned  himself  as  sharply 
as  he  had  condemned  Elijah.  He  was  recalled  to 
himself  by  the  proffered  hand  of  one  of  the  most 
successful  and  as  he  deemed  him,  one  of  the  most 
heartless  of  Ysleta's  boomers. 

"Say,  Ralph,  old  man,  I  want  to  do  myself  the 
honor  of  shaking  hands  with  the  real  thing.  This 
work,"  he  swept  his  hand  with  a  comprehensive 
gesture  which  included  the  dam,  the  canal,  and  the 
waiting  hillsides,  "makes  us  feel  like  thirty  cents 
Mexican.  It  don't  come  with  the  real  plunk  from 
us,  you  know,  but  it's  real  just  the  same.  Ysleta 
wasn't  worth  whooping  for,  but  we  whooped.  We 
whooped  for  cash.  Some  of  us  got  it;  but  what 
we  got,  others  lost,  and  we  knew  it.  But  you  fel 
lows  have  helped  us  to  make  good.  With  this  thing 
in  working  order,"  he  again  pointed  to  the  dam, 
"Ysleta  will  make  good  in  time." 

"I  know  it,"  Winston's  voice  was  regretful, 
"but  the  beginning,  end  and  middle  of  this  whole 
business,  is  a  hunted  man  who  dares  not  show  his 
face,  even  to  those  whom  he  had  every  reason  to 
believe  wrere  his  friends." 

The  man  looked  sharply  at  Winston. 

"You  mean    'Lige  Berl?" 

"Yes,  the  best  man  of  us  all." 

"You're  right  there.    And  say,  Ralph,  you  just 

255 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

listen.  We  all  know  about  this  Pacific  business. 
It  was  a  mistake  on  'Lige's  part,  that's  all.  He'll 
make  good,  if  he  gets  a  chance,  and  by  God,  we're 
going  to  stand  by  and  see  that  he  gets  it." 

Winston's  grasp  tightened  on  the  hand  he  held. 

"It's  all  straightened  out  now,  if  we  only  knew 
where  he  was. ' ' 

The  work  at  the  dam  called  for  Winston's  atten 
tion.  As  he  passed  through  a  bowing,  smiling 
group,  he  came  face  to  face  with  Helen.  She 
was  laughing  and  chatting  with  some  Ysleta  ac 
quaintances.  She  darted  an  eager,  inquiring  look 
at  Winston  as  he  came  towards  her.  In  obedience 
to  an  unvoiced  bidding,  she  joined  Winston  as  he 
passed  by.  Beyond  the  hearing  of  the  group,  her 
look  changed  to  one  of  anxiety. 

"Have  you  seen  anything  of  Elijah?"  she  asked. 

"Not  a  thing.  Helen,  I'm  worried  about  Elijah. 
He  has  been  home,  but  has  gone  again  and  I  can't 
find  him  in  the  mountains.  I  have  sent  men  every 
where.  ' ' 

There  were  tears  in  Helen's  eyes.  They  did  not 
fall;  they  only  softened  and  intensified  their 
depths. 

"I  hoped  to  see  him  here.  If  we  could  only  get 
word  to  him  about  Seymour."  After  a  moment's 
hesitation,  she  added:  "I  have  had  several  strange 
letters  from  him,  but  no  clue  as  to  where  they  were 
sent  from." 

256 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Winston's  glance  wandered  to  the  group  of 
Ysleta  men. 

"It  just  crushes  me,  Helen,  to  think  that  these 
men  are  actually  truer  to  Elijah  than  I  have  been." 

"No,  don't  blame  yourself  too  much.  I  know 
more  now  than  I  did  when  you  and  Uncle  Sid  held 
me  up  that  day  in  the  office,  and—  Oh,  I  cannot 
talk  about  it,  Ralph !  It  is  all  unspeakably  awful." 

Helen  turned  abruptly  away  and  joined  Uncle 
Sid  at  the  foot  of  the  great  derrick  which  was  to 
swing  the  last  stone  into  place. 

Winston  glanced  quickly  at  her,  but  she  was  talk 
ing  eagerly  with  Uncle  Sid,  her  somber  mood  ap 
parently  quite  gone.  He  turned  inquiringly  to  the 
foreman,  who  nodded  his  head  in  reply. 

1 '  Come,  Helen ;  they  are  ready  for  us. ' '  He  took 
Helen  by  the  arm  to  steady  her,  and  together  they 
started  out  over  the  foot- way  on  the  crest  of  the 
dam,  Helen  a  little  in  advance  of  Winston. 

"Don't  look  down,"  he  continued,  "it  may  make 
you  dizzy." 

"Dizzy!"  she  repeated  derisively,  "why  I  could 
walk  a  slack  rope.  It's  great !  I  don't  wonder  that 
you  are  an  engineer." 

"This  is  easy,  doing  things,  when  some  one  tells 
you  what  to  do  and  what  for." 

"Thanks!  You  are  original  and  independent. 
So  am  I."  With  reckless  daring  she  freed  her  arm 
from  Winston's  detaining  hand,  and  before  he 

257 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

could  prevent,  she  was  skipping  over  the  dizzy  walk 
far  ahead. 

"Stop,  Helen,  stop!  It's  dangerous!0  His 
voice  was  commanding. 

"I  know  it  is.  That's  where  the  fun  comes  in." 
Over  her  shoulder  she  flung  him  a  mocking  glance 
from  reckless  eyes. 

Winston  dared  make  no  quick  move  that  would 
increase  her  danger.  He  could  not  understand  the 
spirit  of  bravado  that  had  come  over  her.  A  sigh 
of  intense  relief  escaped  him  as  she  grasped  one 
of  the  staying  ropes  and  swung  inside  the  enclosure, 
which,  hanging  far  out  over  the  abyss,  railed  in 
the  space  where  the  last  stone  was  to  be  laid. 

"It's  no  credit  to  you,"  he  said  sternly,  "that 
your  childish  prank  hasn't  ended  in  tragedy." 

Helen  was  conscious  of  a  creeping  thrill  as  she 
looked  into  Winston's  eyes.  They  were  like  poles 
of  a  dynamo,  with  thousands  of  volts  of  energy 
waiting  to  leap  out,  if  the  safety  line  was  crossed. 
She  felt  as  if  she  were  dangerously  near  the  line. 

"Be  thankful  for  your  mercies,"  she  said  lightly. 
"No  tragedy  has  happened." 

Winston  wanted  to  say  more,  but  an  expectant 
crowd  was  waiting. 

"Well,  go  ahead,"  he  said.  "You're  in  com 
mand  now." 

"I  don't  know  where  to  begin,  but  I'm  not  old 
enough  yet  not  to  take  a  dare." 

258 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Out  on  one  of  the  abutments,  a  great  derrick 
rose ;  near  its  foot  an  engineer  stood  with  his  hand 
on  the  throttle  of  an  engine.  Helen  waved  her 
hand,  looking  defiantly  at  Winston. 

There  came  the  short,  sharp  bark  of  the  engine, 
the  groaning  of  rope  and  timber  as  the  locking 
stone  swung  in  the  air,  turned,  poised  high  above 
them;  them  slowly  began  to  sink  to  its  position. 
Under  Winston's  directions,  her  small,  firm  hands 
guided  the  great  block,  as  it  settled,  then  came  to  a 
rest.  The  fall  ropes  slackened,  and  Helen  un 
clasped  the  tackle.  Amidst  the  cheers  of  the  watch 
ers  on  the  abutments,  the  boom  of  the  derrick 
swung  free.  The  last  stone  had  been  laid  in  the 
Sangre  de  Cristo  dam. 

Helen  turned  to  Winston.  Her  great,  black  eyes 
were  solemn. 

"It  is  finished  now,  isn't  it  Ralph?" 

"It  is." 

Helen  sighed  deeply.  It  suggested  relief  from  a 
long,  anxious  strain. 

"Thunder  and  Mars,  Helen!  Isn't  there  any 
thing  more  in  life  for  you?  I  can  imagine  Alex 
ander  heaving  that  sigh  when  he  realized  that  he'd 
done  the  whole  world." 

"That's  where  Alexander  and  I  separate.  I'm 
relieved,  not  regretful." 

Winston  spoke  with  feeling. 

259 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"It  must  be  a  relief,  Helen.  No  one  has  done 
more  for  this  work  than  you." 

Helen's  reply  was  unguarded. 

"I  wasn't  thinking  of  myself." 

Winston  looked  up  in  unfeigned  surprise. 

"You  weren't?" 

1 '  Let 's  not  talk  of  this  now.    It 's  finished. ' ' 

"Tell  me  what  you  meant." 

Helen  looked  at  Winston.  There  was  a  sug 
gestion  of  yielding  in  her  eyes.  Her  lips  trembled 
on  the  verge  of  speech;  then  they  set,  voiceless. 
Why  should  she  tell  Winston  of  her  fears  of 
Elijah?  That,  driven  to  desperation,  as  she  knew 
he  was,  she  feared  that  in  some  way  he  would 
thwart  the  work  that  was  now  completed. 

"Sometime,  perhaps;  not  now."  She  was  not 
quite  herself.  "This  will  stay  here  forever?"  She 
evidently  wished  to  be  reassured. 

"Unless  something  happens." 

"But  what  can  happen?"  She  questioned 
anxiously. 

"A  very  simple  thing  might  destroy  the  whole 
thing  in  an  hour. ' ' 

Helen's  face  grew  white. 

Winston  noted  the  look,  but  failed  to  assign  the 
correct  reason  for  it.  Helen  had  given  more  to  the 
work  than  he  had  thought. 

"There's  no  danger,  really."  Winston  spoke 
with  conviction.  "It's  just  this.  We've  built  a 

260 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

rip-rap  dam  with  a  stone  facing.  No  amount  of 
water  behind  it  can  ever  move  it.  Yet  if  by  chance 
the  water  should  flow  over  the  crest,  it  would  go 
in  an  hour. 

4 'What's  to  prevent  it?"  Helen's  voice  was 
sharp. 

"The  waste  weir."  Winston  pointed  to  the  stone 
paved  canal  on  the  far  side  of  the  dam.  "We  know 
the  rainfall  here.  That  spillway  will  handle  twice 
the  amount." 

"But  if  it  should  become  choked?" 

"  We  have  the  flood  gates."  Winston  pointed  to 
the  two  great  shafts  that  reached  up  from  the  base 
of  the  dam,  crowned  with  grooved  wheels. 

"But  suppose  they  should  get  wedged  so  they 
could  not  be  opened?" 

"Then  I  would  advise  you  to  get  out  of  the  way! 
What's  the  matter,  Helen?"  WTinston  grew  sud 
denly  conscious  that  there  was  more  in  Helen's  per 
sistent  questions  that  appeared  on  the  surface. 

Helen  did  not  reply. 

"Couldn't  all  this  have  been  provided  against?" 

"Yes;  but  it  would  have  cost  more  money  than 
we  had  to  put  in.  It's  safe  enough,  if  we  watch 
out." 

Helen  laid  her  hand  on  Winston's  arm.  Her 
,  \,  s  \\vn-  dt'cp  and  anxious. 

"Watch  out  day  and  night,  Ralph.  There  is 
danger,  grave  danger." 

261 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

Winston  was  thoroughly  aroused. 

"You  know  something  that  you  are  concealing 
from  me.  Tell  me!" 

"I  have  told  you  enough  to  put  you  on  your 
guard.  I  can't  tell  you  any  more.  I  don't  know 
any  more." 

Helen  turned  resolutely  toward  the  footway. 
Winston  walked  silently  beside  her.  He  wanted  to 
know  more,  but  he  felt  the  uselessness  of  words. 
As  soon  as  he  could  free  himself  from  the  friends 
who  thronged  around  him  and  Helen,  he  sought 
out  Uncle  Sid  and  told  him  of  Helen's  warning. 

"What  do  you  make  out  of  it?"  he  asked. 

"No  more  than  you  do,  I  guess." 

"You  think  Elijah  is  at  the  bottom  of  it  all, 
don't  you?" 

"Yes,  I  do.     I'm  sure  of  it." 

"Why  didn't  she  tell  me  then?"  Winston  burst 
out. 

"Well,  women  are  queer  creatures."  Uncle  Sid 
spoke  meditatively.  '  *  They  see  more  sides  to  a  man 
than  we  do,  an'  when  he's  down,  they  stay  by  him 
closer.  I  sometimes  think  that  Helen  knows  more 
about  'Lige  than  we  do;  anyway,  she's  mighty 
suspicious  of  him,  but  she's  goin'  to  give  him  every 
chance  to  get  up,  an'  at  the  same  time  she's  lookin' 
out  that  no  one  gets  hurt  when  he's  flappin'  his 
heels  around,  tryin'  to  make  his  feet.  What  are 
you  doin'  to  shut  off  any  deviltry?" 

262 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

"I've  put  on  extra  watchmen,  day  and  night, 
and  I've  got  men  out  hunting  Elijah." 
"I  guess  that's  all  that  you  can  do." 
Winston  meditated  long  over  Helen's  warning 
and  Uncle  Sid's  explanation  of  her  conduct.  The 
idea  of  Elijah's  trying  to  injure  the  dam  finally 
seemed  too  monstrous  to  be  entertained.  It  oc 
curred  to  him  to  remain  at  the  dam  and  not  trust 
to  watchmen;  but  this  was  impossible.  He  had 
other  pressing  duties  demanding  him.  Nothing 
could  happen  this  night;  the  next  would  be  spent 
at  the  mouth  of  the  canon.  The  day  following  he 
would  send  some  of  his  young  assistants  in  place 
of  the  Mexicans. 


263 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SEVEN 

The  sun  had  long  since  sunk  beneath  the  sheen 
of  the  ocean  and  one  by  one  the  distant  stars 
pricked  sharp  and  clear  through  the  azure  veil  that 
made  the  world  a  unit  in  the  depths  of  space.  From 
their  spanless  heights,  moonlight  and  starlight 
plunged  like  hissing  shafts  of  water  and,  like  shafts 
of  water  falling  on  the  softly  resisting  air,  broke  in 
diffused  mantles  that  half  concealed  and  half  re 
vealed  the  softened  contours  of  the  slumbering 
world.  The  gently  falling  radiance  disclosed  no 
detail  of  the  swelling  plains  below,  yet  each  tumid 
roll,  crowned  with  its  aureole  of  lustrous  light 
voiced  with  tongueless  words  an  everlasting  peace. 

Winston  was  busy  until  far  into  the  night.  There 
was  a  strange  sense  of  oppression  as  he  passed  from 
point  to  point  of  the  now  completed  dam.  The 
machinery  that  had  for  so  long  a  time  been  pulsing 
with  life,  was  now  stilled.  There  were  no  banked 
fires  under  the  boilers,  to  speak  of  rest  for  the  labor 
of  the  morrow,  for  the  labor  was  completed.  In 
the  laborer's  camp,  the  men  were  packing  their 
few  belongings  for  an  early  start  in  the  morning. 
Some  were  busy  touching  up  the  machines  for  their 

264 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

long  rest.  These  were  not  to  be  dismantled  at  once, 
but  were  to  wait  a  more  convenient  time.  The  lan 
terns  of  the  men  twinkled  through  clumps  of  moun 
tain  pine  where  the  shadows  lay  thick  and  deep; 
then  faded  to  a  dim  point  in  the  white  moonlight. 
The  occasional  clink  of  a  hammer,  and  the  voices 
of  the  men  drifted  across  the  water,  softened  by 
distance.  It  was  funereal,  after  all!  And  he  had 
looked  forward  to  these  very  sounds  with  an  im 
patient  thrill.  Now  it  was  all  completed.  The  last 
stone  of  the  dam  had  been  laid,  from  the  dam  to 
the  terminal  canal  every  gate  had  been  put  in, 
every  trestle  had  been  built,  every  tunnel  had  been 
driven.  Tomorrow,  with  the  men,  he  would  go 
over  every  foot  of  the  canal  for  a  final  inspection. 
If  this  was  satisfactory,  and  he  knew  it  would  be, 
in  two  days  the  gates  would  be  opened  and  the 
water  turned  into  the  canal. 

Winston  was  standing  on  the  apron  of  the  dam 
looking  out  over  the  great  reservoir  that  in  the 
moonlight  lay  like  a  plate  of  burnished  steel  be 
tween  the  pine-clad  granite  hills  that  dipped  steeply 
into  the  water.  The  dam  was  already  filled  to  the 
brim,  and  the  full  volume  of  the  Sangre  de  Cristo 
was  sweeping  through  the  weir  and  plunging  into 
the  canon  below.  The  sights  and  sounds  only  deep 
ened  Winston's  oppression.  His  work  was  done; 
tin1  work  he  loved  so  well.  The  future  held  nothing 
so  bright  as  the  past  had  held.  Only,  in  the  future, 

265 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

was  there  to  be  the  dull  routine  of  office  work,  the 
laying  off  of  orange  groves,  the  running  out  of 
ditches  that  would  lead  the  water  to  them;  simple 
work  this  that  any  tyro  who  could  set  a  level  and 
read  an  angle,  could  perform.  No  intricate  prob 
lems  that  absorbed  every  energy  of  an  active  mind, 
that  blotted  out  consciousness  of  time  and  self  in 
delicious  oblivion  of  existence;  no  obstacles  of  na 
ture  that  lifted  a  forbidding  hand  "thus  far  and 
no  farther;"  no  thrill  of  determined  battle  that 
rushed  against  these  obstacles  and  bore  them  down. 
His  field  had  been  sown;  the  harvest  was  waiting 
for  him  to  thrust  in  and  reap,  what  ?  Money ;  that 
was  all.  Money  that  would  only  intensify  his  con 
sciousness  of  an  existence  that  like  rank  vegetation 
throve  aimlessly  only  to  rot  and  thrive  again.  What 
would  love,  even  Helen 's  love,  mean  to  him  ?  Would 
that,  assured,  satisfy  him,  or  would  it,  possessed,  be 
to  him  like  his  work  that  was  done?  What  had 
drawn  them  together  but  an  intense,  absorbing, 
common  interest? 

This  mood  was  strange  to  Winston.  He  could, 
and  did,  reason  himself  out  of  it ;  but  its  influencr 
remained.  In  his  cabin,  which  was  his  office  as 
well,  he  wrapped  his  blankets  around  him  and  lay 
down  to  sleep. 

Helen's  night  was  sleepless.  She  had  retired 
early,  not  to  sleep,  as  she  knew,  but  that  in  solitude 
she  might  try  to  think  out  more  clearly  her  course 

266 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

of  action.  Her  admiration  for  "Winston  had  in 
creased  a  thousand-fold,  if  that  were  possible;  and 
he  had  offered  her  his  love  to  crown  it  all,  and  she 
had  seemed  to  weigh  it  in  her  hands,  as  a  Jew  might 
bite  a  piece  of  gold  to  try  its  worth.  She  had  done 
this  when  every  fiber  of  her  heart  cried  out  against 
it,  demanding  that  she  should  render  to  Ralph  his 
own.  Why  had  she  turned  even  seemingly  against 
Ralph,  against  herself? 

Only  that  she  might  do  penance  for  her  sin.  Was 
not  that  it  after  all?  But  she  was  innocent  of  any 
intentional  wrong.  Was  it  not  selfishness,  this 
penance  which  she  was  imposing  upon  herself? 
Was  she  not  compelling  Ralph  to  bear  a  part  of  her 
punishment,  demanding  that  he  wait  in  doubt  till 
she  could  declare  herself  purified?  Was  it  not 
pride  and  selfish  pride  which  demanded  that 
through  Elijah's  redemption  she  should  be  de 
clared  free? 

Then  a  thought  came  to  her  which  quickened 
every  nerve  to  painful  throbs.  Was  it  not  worse 
than  selfishness,  was  it  not  a  crime?  Was  not  this 
shielding  of  Elijah  a  crime  iiiraiii^t  others,  inno 
cent?  What  if  she  should  fail?  Her  heart  was 
beating  with  great,  painful  throbs.  She  thought 
of  what  Ralph  had  told  her  as  he  had  showed  her 
the  weak  points  of  the  dam.  "If  the  waste  weir 
should  be  choked,  in  a  few  hours  the  dam  would  be 
gone."  He  had  pointed  out  to  her  just  how  simple 

267 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

a  thing  it  was  to  wedge  the  gates  and  to  choke  the 
weir.  And  she  had  listened,  and  to  protect  her 
self—that  was  the  pitiful  part  of  it,— to  protect 
herself,  she  had  warned  him  to  be  on  his  guard. 
She  began  dressing  herself  with  trembling  fingers. 
She  would  go  to  him  and  tell  him  all.  Let  him 
think  what  he  might,  she  would  tell  him  all,  un 
sparing  of  herself.  She  parted  the  flaps  of  the  tent 
and  stepped  out  into  the  night.  Outside,  she 
paused  for  a  moment.  The  soft  gray  of  the  moon 
light,  lying  white  on  the  silent  tents,  the  sighing  of 
the  pines,  the  distant,  bell-like  notes  of  calling 
wood-birds,  spoke  to  her  of  peace  that  stilled  her 
acute  fears.  Then  she  became  conscious  of  another 
sound;  a  throbbing,  muffled  roar  that  made  the 
night  air  tremulous. 

She  changed  the  direction  of  her  steps.  On  the 
bridge  that  spanned  the  waste  weir,  she  looked  down 
on  the  swirling  waters  that  rushed  over  the  floor  of 
the  weir.  For  a  moment  she  paused,  then  went  out 
over  the  foot-board  of  the  dam.  The  gate  house 
rose  black  from  the  waters  that  lapped  against  the 
dam.  Inside  the  gate  house,  every  wheel  and  gear 
was  in  place.  Once  more  in  the  open  air,  her  tense 
feelings  relaxed.  She  laughed  at  her  fears.  Her 
resolution  hardened.  In  the  morning  she  would 
tell  Ralph  everything.  The  relaxation  from  the 
strain  of  the  night  induced  a  sleep  that  kept  her 
late  in  bed.  When  she  joined  the  others,  Ralph 

268 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

had  gone.  The  party  were  to  camp  that  night  at 
the  mouth  of  the  canon,  where  he  would  meet  them 
the  following  day  for  lunch.  Helen  was  disap 
pointed.  At  first  she  thought  of  riding  ahead  and 
hunting  out  Ralph,  but  she  knew  him,  and  the  idea 
of  overtaking  him  was  absurd.  She  restrained  her 
self  with  as  much  patience  as  she  could  command, 
but  her  senses  were  on  the  alert. 

The  ponies  were  saddled  and  bridled,  waiting 
for  them  when  breakfast  was  over.  Helen  was  sur 
prised  at  this.  She  well  knew  the  spirit  of  maiiana, 
which,  with  the  lesser  virtues  had  come  down  to  the 
descendants  of  the  Spanish  cavaliers.  She  was 
therefore  surprised  at  the  alert,  beady  eyes  of  the 
swarthy  Mexicans,  in  place  of  the  dreamy  lassitude 
to  which  she  was  accustomed.  The  surprise  was 
ephemeral  and  soon  passed  away;  but  she  was  to 
recall  it  later. 

The  following  morning  when  the  party  was  again 
under  way,  Helen  rode  up  to  Uncle  Sid. 

'*  Uncle  Sid,  you  ride  down  to  the  camp  with  the 
crowd,  and  I'll  meet  you  there  at  noon.  I'm  going 
this  way."  She  pointed  to  a  trail  which  branched 
off  from  the  main  line. 

"What  for?"    Uncle  Sid  asked  bluntly. 

Helen  could  hardly  answer  satisfactorily  to  her 
self  much  less  to  Uncle  Sid. 

"Oh,  she  replied,  "because  I  want  to.  Won't 
that  do?" 

269 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

11  You'd  better  come  along  with  us,"  Uncle  Sid 
protested.  "You  might  meet  some  more  dried 
beef." 

"I'm  not  afraid;  besides  I'm  mounted  now." 
Then  they  parted. 

The  trail  which  Helen  had  chosen,  followed  the 
canal.  For  a  distance  it  was  squeezed  tight  between 
the  walls  of  the  steep-sloped,  cedar-tufted  barranca. 
The  bed  was  dry  now;  but  when  the  water  should 
be  turned  on,  this  trail  would  be  impassable. 
A  little  further,  and  the  gorge  opened  into  a  deep 
arroyo  which  the  canal  bridged,  then  turned  and 
followed  the  opposite  bank. 

Helen  had  followed  this  trail  for  two  reasons.  In 
the  first  place,  she  wanted  to  be  alone.  Then,  this 
was  the  trail  over  which  she  had  ridden  with  Ralph 
when  he  had  first  shown  her  his  work.  The  head 
of  the  arroyo  was  clad  with  a  thicket  of  cedars,  so 
dense  as  to  be  almost  impenetrable.  As  the  last 
foot-fall  sounded  on  the  bridge,  Helen's  pony  halted 
abruptly,  and  with  swelling  nostrils  and  forward 
pointing  ears,  whinnied  a  short,  sharp  challenge. 
There  was  an  answering  whinny,  and  Helen's  eyes 
followed  the  direction  of  the  sound.  Almost  hidden 
by  the  dull  leaves  of  the  cedars,  was  a  draggled 
looking  pony,  saddled,  with  the  reins  trailing  on 
the  ground.  At  first,  Helen  hardly  noticed  the  fig 
ure  squatting  limply  beside  the  pony.  His  dis 
hevelled  clothing  was  stuck  full  of  gray  needles, 

270 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

like  those  spattered  on  the  ground,  whence  the  figure 
had  evidently  just  risen  to  a  sitting  posture.  The 
man  raised  his  eyes  and  Helen's  heart  stood  still. 
In  the  gray,  drawn  face,  the  dull,  lusterless  eyes, 
she  recognized  Elijah  Berl.  As  she  looked  wonder- 
in  <:ly  at  him,  in  spite  of  the  knowledge  of  his  mis 
deeds,  a  great  wave  of  womanly  pity  swept  over  her 
heart.  A  single  glance  at  the  pitiful  figure,  with 
the  knowledge  that  had  come  to  her  from  her  asso 
ciations  with  him,  told  her  the  struggle  he  had 
lived  through,  a  struggle  that  had  unbalanced  his 
reason  and  left  him  lower  than  the  beasts  of  the 
field. 

"Oh,  Elijah!  Why  weren't  you  at  the  dam?" 
Her  voice  was  tremulous,  in  spite  of  her  efforts  to 
control  it. 

The  answer  to  her  words  was  a  vacant,  uncom 
prehending  stare. 

"Every  one  missed  you,"  she  continued.  "Every 
one  was  asking  for  you."  Again  she  paused, 
ea<jvrly  searching  her  soul  for  words  that  would 
brinir  the  liuht  of  reason  to  the  listless  eyes. 

There  was  no  response,  save  a  dropping  of  the 
dull  eyes,  an  aimless  picking  of  the  fingers  at  the 
needles  that  clung  to  his  garments. 

H'-len  reined  her  pony  close  to  the  abutment  of 
the  bridge,  and  dismounting,  trailed  the  bridle  on 
the  stones.  She  trembled  at  what  she  was  about  to 
do,  but  the  spirit  of  atonement  forced  her  on.  An- 

271 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

other  moment,  and  she  was  beside  the  limp  figure, 
one  hand  resting  on  the  bowed  shoulders. 

11  Elijah,  listen!  I  have  something  to  tell  you. 
Listen,  for  you  must  not  miss  a  single  word.  Go 
back  to  Ysleta,  go  back  to  Amy.  You  are  free.  Mr. 
Seymour— ' ' 

At  the  name,  Elijah  sprang  to  his  feet,  his  hands 
clenched  and  knotted,  his  eyes  shining  with  mani 
acal  rage. 

"Curse  him!"  he  shouted,  "Curse  him,  curse 
him !  Curse  them  all  for  a  pack  of  ravening  wolves ! 
He  has  done  it ;  they  have  done  it !  The  Philistines 
be  upon  them !  They  be  of  them  who  would  gather 
where  I  have  strewn,  who  would  reap  of  the  harvest 
I  have  sown.  The  day  of  wrath  is  upon  them,  the 
consuming  anger  of  a  terrible  God.  Listen ! "  He 
seized  Helen's  hand,  crushing  it  in  his  fierce  grasp, 
as  he  bent  forward  toward  the  canon  of  the  Sangre 
de  Cristo.  His  eyes  were  strained,  his  lips  parted. 

Helen  was  half  conscious  of  a  sudden  silence. 
The  roaring  waters  were  stilled.  She  was  beginning 
to  comprehend  the  reason  and  the  import  of  the 
hushed  waters.  Elijah  dropped  the  clasped  hand; 
he  stood  triumphant,  his  head  thrown  back,  his 
eyes  raised  to  the  cloudless  sky. 

"It  is  done!  'I  will  tell  you  what  I  have  done 
for  my  vineyard ;  I  will  take  away  the  hedge  there 
of,  and  it  shall  be  eaten  up ;  and  I  will  break  down 
the  wall  thereof,  and  it  shall  be  trodden  down. 

272 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BEKL 

And  I  will  lay  it  waste;  it  shall  not  be  pruned  nor 
digged,  but  there  shall  come  up  briars  and  thorns. 
Hell  hath  enlarged  herself  and  opened  her  mouth 
without  measure;  and  their  glory  and  their  multi 
tude,  and  their  pomp,  and  he  that  rejoiceth,  shall 
descend  into  it!'  ' 

The  words  were  chanted,  rather  than  spoken; 
chanted  with  the  resonant  triumph  of  him  who  has 
fought  and  won.  He  yet  stood,  with  clenched,  out 
spread  hands;  but  the  color  was  dying  from  the 
drawn  cheeks,  the  fierce  light  fading  from  the 
gleaming  eyes.  Then  he  stood  as  before,  dull,  list 
less,  apathetic.  The  momentary  fire  had  burned 
itself  to  ashes. 

Helen  stood  with  every  sense  strained  to  catch 
the  full  import  of  Elijah's  changing  moods.  What 
was  he  about  to  do?  What  had  he  done?  She 
must  prevent  his  purpose  if  possible,  nullify  it  if- 
this  was  not  to  be  thought  of  now.  She  must  read, 
and  read  quickly,  the  flickering  light  of  reason  that 
burned  fitfully  through  the  chaos  of  his  soul.  She 
was  certain  that  reason  had  departed;  was  it  be 
yond  recall?  She  must  try.  Precious  as  she  felt 
the  moments  to  be,  she  must  yet  try.  She  took  one 
of  Elijah's  hands  in  her  own  firm  grasp. 

"You  don't  understand,  Elijah.  He  is  not  your 
enemy."  She  dared  not  use  Seymour's  name 
r.L'ain.  "He  is  your  friend.  He  and  Ralph  have 
sent  out  men  to  find  you;  they  are  searching  for 

273 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

you  now.  They  are  looking  for  you  to  tell  you  that 
the  money  has  been  restored.  They  say  that—" 
Helen  hesitated,  but  the  pause  was  imperceptible, 
4 'you  did  the  best  thing,  the  best  thing  for  the  com 
pany,  in  buying  the  Pico  ranch;  that  you  saw 
farther  than  they  did." 

Helen  was  hesitating  mentally,  but  her  words 
went  on  without  pause.  She  was  watching  in 
tently  for  a  sign  of  comprehension  in  the  stolid, 
passionless  face.  With  her  last  words,  the  light 
came  again  to  the  eyes  she  was  searching.  Not  the 
fierce  passion-blaze  of  unchained  fury,  only  the 
peaceful  glow  of  returning  reason.  He  spoke 
slowly,  stumblingly,  as  one  waking  from  a  dream. 

"They  know  now,— that  I  was  right,  that— I  did 
right?"  The  eyes  again  wavered  between  intelli 
gence  and  stupor. 

"Yes,  Elijah,  they  know  now." 

His  voice  was  querulous. 

"Why  didn't  they  trust  me?  After  all  I  had 
done;  why  didn't  they  trust  me?" 

"They  do  trust  you  now.  Come  back,  Elijah. 
All  is  forgiven." 

Elijah's  reply  was  again  querulous,  almost  pee 
vish. 

"Why  didn't  they  trust  me?  Why  didn't  they 
trust  me  before  it  was  too  late?"  The  bitterness 
dropped  from  voice  and  manner.  His  voice  was 
loud  and  terrible.  "Don't  you  hear  me?  It  is  too 

274 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

late!  Listen!  It  is  too  late!  Don't  you  know  what 
this  moans?  Listen!  The  roar  of  the  water  has 
stopped!  Don't  you  know  what  this  means?  The 
flood  gates  are  closed.  In  a  few  minutes,  in  a  few 
hours,  the  reservoir  will  fill,  and  the  water  will  go 
over  the  dam.  Don't  you  know  what  that  means? 
It  is  too  late!"  He  paused!  there  was  a  strained 
look  in  his  eyes.  Then  he  sprang  into  action. 

1 '  Is  it  too  late  ?    My  God !    Is  it  too  late  ? ' ' 

He  was  in  the  saddle,  the  pony's  head  pointing 
up  the  canon,  his  flanks  shrinking  from  the  pound 
ing  stirrups,  and  from  the  lashings  of  the  bridle 
thongs. 

Helen  watched  the  flying  horseman.  For  a 
moment  she  was  struck  motionless  with  uncompre 
hending  terror.  What  did  it  all  mean?  What 
could  she  do?  Oh,  if  Ralph  were  only  here!  For  a 
moment  she  stood;  then  she  was  on  her  pony  and 
riding  hard  toward  the  camping  place  and  Ralph. 
Through  scrubby  sage  and  cedar,  stumbling  in  bur 
rows,  shying  at  stininni:  cactus,  her  horse  was  driv 
ing  madly  on.  Her  thoughts  were  all  on  finding 
Ralph;  but  mingling  with  these,  were  the  b.-a.ly 
eyes  of  the  alert  Mexicans,  and  the  silenced  waters 
of  the  Sangre  de  Cristo.  These  had  a  meaning  for 
her  now. 

From  tlif  summit  of  a  low  ridLV.  she  saw  below 
her  the  camp  of  the  party   for  which  she  \\ 
eagerly  watching.    One  tall  figure  she  singled  out 

275 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

and  kept  her  eyes  upon  him.  He  turned.  She 
could  almost  see  his  questioning  eyes  as  he  strode 
out  from  his  companins.  He  was  near  enough  to 
hear  her  cry— 

* '  Oh,  Ralph !    The  dam !    The  dam !    Elijah  is  at 
the  dam!" 


276 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-EIGHT 

"Winston  asked  no  questions.  Whatever  else  there 
ini<:ht  be  to  learn,  could  be  learned  at  the  dam  with 
no  waste  of  precious  time.  As  to  what  time  meant, 
AVinston  was  fully  alive.  As  to  what  effect  the 
constant,  lonely  ferment  over  real  or  fancied  wrongs 
would  have  upon  a  morbidly  sensitive  mind,  he 
took  no  moment  to  forecast.  He  knew  the  ruin  that 
could  be  wrought;  for  he  knew  the  strength  and 
the  weakness  of  the  dam;  and  he  knew  Elijah. 
The  thought  that  Elijah  could  be  driven  to  wreck 
the  crowning  work  of  years  of  struggle,  seemed  to 
him  monstrous,  but  he  knew  that  it  was  possible; 
and  he  knew  Elijah.  He  knew  also,  the  sinister 
conditions  in  the  note  to  Mellin.  He  knew  that 
they  were  harmless  now;  but  Elijah  did  not  know. 

Winston  could  count  upon  his  men  and  they  fol 
lowed  his  lead.  He  was  eager,  anxious ;  but  neither 
eagerness  nor  anxiety  prevented  the  calm  judg 
ment  which  spared  his  horse  while  pushing  it  to  the 
limit;  and  his  men  followed  his  lead. 

As  he  flew  past  the  intake  gates  of  the  canal  he 
noted  that  they  were  closed.  This  fact  pointed  to 
the  worst.  As  he  rode  through  the  canon  he  noted 
the  silence,  the  oily  threads  of  water  sliding  be- 

277 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

tween  the  boulders ;  these  facts  made  suspicion  cer 
tainty.  The  worst  had  happened  or  was  on  the 
way. 

As  he  came  near  the  dam,  he  did  not  need  the 
sight  of  the  thin,  wrinkling  veil  that  was  sliding 
over  the  crest,  and,  in  ever  increasing  volume,  was 
plunging  into  the  depths  below,  to  tell  him  what 
had  happened.  As  he  sprang  from  his  horse,  he 
did  not  need  to  see  the  tangled  mass  of  earth  and 
timber  that  choked  the  waste  weir  to  the  brim,  nor 
did  he  need  to  see  the  closed  gates  and  the  broken 
wheels  that  forbade  the  hope  of  opening  them. 
Long  ago,  so  it  seemed,  he  had  forecast  the  design 
and  the  method  of  its  execution. 

He  saw  another  sight  which  he  had  not  forecast. 
He  saw  repentance — repentance,  he  saw  surely; 
atonement,  if  within  the  reach  of  time,  and  life,  and 
sacrifice  of  life.  He  saw  Repentance  with  bared 
brow,  with  gray,  drawn  face,  with  glowing  eyes 
that  directed  crashing  strokes  of  a  shining  axe, 
eating  deep  into  a  locking  tree-trunk  which  held 
back  with  its  mass  of  crushed  timbers  and  close- 
packed  earth,  the  seething  waters  of  the  weir.  He 
saw  it  all,  and  his  heart  swelled  and  pulsed  and 
throbbed  with  the  glory  of  it.  He  saw  and  felt  the 
glory  of  it,  that  lifts  man  above  the  beasts  that 
raven,  the  angels  who  adore,  and  places  him  at  the 
side  of  God,  the  crowning  labor  of  his  mighty 
hands. 

278 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

But  through  the  swelling,  flaming  glory  that 
bat  lied  the  world  with  the  light  of  heaven,  the 
earthborn  instinct  thrust;  to  save  a  human  life 
though  repentance  and  atonement  were  laid  low, 
and  the  light  that  they  radiated  was  quenched. 
Through  the  oily,  sliding,  deepening  veil  Ralph 
dashed,  shouting  as  he  went— 

"Come    back!      Come    back!      Elijah!     Come 

back"! 

But  Repentance  heeded  not  the  call.  Once  again 
the  shining  blade  bit  deep  in  the  straining  timber, 
and  Atonement  had  gained  its  perfect  work. 

A  crash  like  riving  thunder  drowned  the  swirl 
of  falling  water,  and  the  huddled  mass  of  rock  and 
earth  and  timber  groaned  and  swelled  and  thrust, 
and  then,  with  a  crash  and  roar,  swept  through  the 
stone-paved  weir  and  plunged  into  the  yawning 
canon. 

The  blade  had  fallen  from  the  bared  hands ;  the 
gray,  drawn  face  was  lifted  to  the  heavens;  but 
the  grayness  was  gone.  In  its  place  was  the  light 
that  comes  from  but  one  source.  Repentance  was 
crowned  with  atonement ;  but  life  had  departed. 

Not  quite.  From  a  boiling  eddy,  struggling,  im 
patient  to  join  the  swirling  rush  of  turbid  waters, 
pitying  hands  div\v  a  torn,  bruised  body.  A  rough, 
kind  hand  brushed  earth-stained  locks  from  the 
still  face. 

"My  God!    That  sight  would  make  a  man  of  the 

279 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

devil!"  This  was  the  tribute  of  a  dormant  soul 
cased  in  a  toil-calloused  body. 

Ralph  was  bending  low.  The  eyelids  fluttered, 
then  sprang  open;  but  the  vision  was  not  of  this 
world.  The  lips  trembled— 

'  *  Amy !    Amy ! ' '    Then  they  closed  forever. 


280 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-NINE 

Had  a  ball  of  fire,  shot  from  the  cloudless  sky, 
smitten  one  of  their  number  to  eternal  silence,  no 
greater,  no  more  awesome  hus>  could  have  fallen 
upon  the  merry  party  below  the  lam.  Men  looked 
at  each  other  with  stricken  eyes,  then  turned  to 
watch  the  speeding  horsemen  led  by  Winston.  As 
Helen  rode  nearer  to  them,  questioning  eyes  were 
turned  to  her,  but  she  gave  no  heed.  Only  in  the 
white,  set  face  they  read  the  outlines  of  some  awful 
tragedy.  Uncle  Sid  was  first  at  her  side. 

"Come  with  me,"  she  commanded.  Then  she 
turned  and  rode  slowly  toward  the  canon.  Uncle 
Sid  rode  close  beside  her. 

"What  is  it,  little  girl?"  There  was  a  pitying, 
restful  caress  in  the  softened  voice. 

Helen  longed  to  throw  herself  in  his  arms,  to 
bury  her  head  on  his  breast,  to  pour  out  her  soul 
in  confession  before  him.  She  controlled  herself, 
li'-r  voice. 

"I  have  found  Elijah."  Then  she  told  him  all. 
It  was  good  to  unburden  li«-rself.  She  told  of  the 
pitiful  wreck  from  which  reason  had  all  but  fled; 
the  burst  of  insane  rage  when  Seymour's  name  was 

281 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

mentioned;  the  dumb  struggle  to  grasp  the  assur 
ance  that  he  was  forgiven,  was  free;  the  hopeless 
plaint,  "Why  didn't  they  trust  me  before  it  was 
too  late,—  "  the  silence  of  the  river;  the  wild 
cry, — "Is  it  too  late,  my  God,  is  it  too  late?"  the 
mad  ride,  fury  driven,  up  the  canon  trail.  She 
told  him  of  her  fears  for  the  dam,  how  easily  it 
could  be  wrecked,  and  her  voice,  steady  until  now, 
broke  pitifully.  "I  should  have  told  Ralph  all. 
Only  my  wicked  pride  kept  me  from  it." 

Uncle  Sid  reined  his  pony  closer  and  laid  a 
soothing  hand  on  her  arm. 

"It  isn't  too  late,  little  girl.  Listen!  You  have 
saved  Elijah.  You  have  saved  the  dam!" 

They  were  near  the  canon  now,  and  a  heavy 
murmur,  growing  in  intensity,  pulsed  in  the  quiet 
air.  A  great,  hopeful  light  glowed  in  Helen 's  eyes ; 
then  it  suddenly  gave  place  to  anxious  fear.  Was 
it  too  late  after  all?  Had  the  dam  given  way? 
A  moment  and  her  questions  would  be  answered. 
She  sat  with  parted  lips,  and  straining  eyes,  wait 
ing  for  the  rending,  crashing  thunder  that  would 
come  if — then  a  sigh  of  relief  escaped  her.  At  the 
canon's  mouth,  the  turbid,  soil-stained  waters  of 
the  Sangre  de  Cristo  were  leaping  and  falling,  but 
the  volume  was  decreasing.  She  turned  to  Uncle 
Sid. 

"Wait  here.    I  am  going  up  the  canon." 

She  felt  that  she  was  losing  control  of  herself; 

282 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BBRL 

she  was  striving  against  it,  but  in  vain.  Try  as 
she  would,  she  could  lay  hold  of  nothing  in  the 
past  that  could  aid  her.  What  had  been  her  past  ? 
A  sense  of  right  and  a  determination  to  live  in  ac 
cord  with  it,  and  with  what  results?  In  self-con 
fident  pride  she  had  looked  down  with  contempt 
upon  Ysleta  boomers  and  their  methods.  At  the 
first  beck  of  Elijah,  yielding  to  the  subtle,  in 
tangible  influence  which  he  had  thrown  around  her, 
she  had  abandoned  her  principles  and  had  become 
as  one  of  them.  Not  openly,  not  strongly,  not  de 
fiantly,  here  was  the  shame  and  the  pain  of  it;  she 
had  not  been  herself,  but  another.  She  had  pro 
tested,  to  herself,  to  Elijah,  she  had  stood  up 
against  him  and  had  gone  down  before  him.  Day 
after  day,  the  meshes  of  this  sinister  influence  had 
held  her  more  closely  in  its  silken  web;  day  after 
day,  her  past  stood  out  more  clearly  with  all  its 
pitiful  failures,  and  day  after  day  the  future,  even 
with  the  light  of  the  past  beating  white  upon  it, 
saw  her  yet  more  strongly  bound.  What  deeper 
(li-pths  would  have  yawned  to  engulf  her,  had  not 
Elijah's  declaration  jarred  her  to  a  loathsome 
re-cognition  of  what  she  was,  of  what  she  might  be 
come,  she  shuddered  to  forecast.  A  smile  of  bitter 
self-contempt  played  over  her  lips  for  a  moment ; 
then  was  gone. 

In  her  darknr.ss.  there  was  yet  a  ray  of  light. 
She  had  failed,  failed  miserably.    She  bore  this  in 

283 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

upon  her  soul  with  no  softening  words.  This  was 
her  darkness. 

Brave,  strong,  patient  hands  had  laid  hold  upon 
Elijah.  If  they  had  not  saved  him,  they  had  saved 
his  work.  They  had  laid  hold  upon  her.  If  they 
had  not  saved  her,  they  had  made  her  failures 
harmless.  This  was  her  light.  She  could  forget 
herself,  her  pain,  her  shame,  in  the  glory  of  Ralph 's 
triumph.  From  the  dust  of  her  humiliation,  she 
could  yet  raise  a  heart  filled  with  unselfish  love. 

Yet  was  there  not  hope?  Ralph  had  known  all 
that  had  lain  on  the  surface  and  he  had  offered  her 
his  love  and  had  asked  for  hers  in  return.  She 
would  be  brave.  She  would  tell  him  all.  Even 
though  he  cast  her  aside,  she  would  yet  have  her 
love  for  him  which  could  not  harm  him,  but  save 
her.  She  would  tell  him  all.  Then  if  the  light  of 
love  still  shone  in  his  eyes,  the  light  of  the  love  he 
offered,  the  light  of  the  love  he  asked,  she  would 
know  it;  she  could  trust  it  without  fear.  She  was 
learning  a  lesson  that  might  not  avail  her ;  but  she 
was  learning  a  lesson.  On  the  somber  background 
of  repentance  the  brightest  pictures  of  life  are 
painted. 

Through  the  pine  boughs  that  hung  low  over  the 
trail,  she  caught  a  glimpse  of  hatless  men  who  were 
carrying  a  burden  between  them.  For  a  moment 
her  heart  stood  still.  It  was  death.  Then  her 
heart  once  more  beat  high.  She  saw  Ralph's  face, 

284 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

a  face  clouded  with  grief  but  yet  lightened  by  a 
supernal  glow.  She  slipped  from  her  pony  and 
with  bowed  h«-ad  waitrd  for  the  covered  burden 
to  pass  by.  Then  her  eyes  worn  raised  to  Ralph's; 
her  hand  was  in  his. 

"It  is  all  over,  Helen;  but  his  death  was  glorious. 
It  was  worth  a  thousand  lives." 

Her  hand  in  Ralph's,  sh.>  heard  the  story  of 
Elijah's  life  redeemed  in  death.  Tears  welled  from 
her  eyes  and  fell  silently  down  her  cheeks. 

Ralph  was  drawing  her  nearer;  his  arm  was 
around  her. 

"I  know  all  now,  Helen."  He  would  have  said 
more  but  she  checked  him  gently. 

"No;  you  do  not  know  all.  I  must  tell  you.  I 
must."  She  was  trying  to  free  herself. 

1 1 1  want  you  to  tell  me  just  one  thing. ' ' 

"I  must.    Then—"  her  eyes  met  his  bravely. 

He  laid  his  fingers  gently  on  her  lips. 

"I  know  what  you  would  tell  me,  but  I  do  not 
care  to  hear.  I  will  not  listen,  Helen.  Don't  you 
believe  that  I  know  myself,  that  I  know  you?" 

She  hid  her  face  in  her  hands. 

"Ralph." 

"Stop!"  Ralph's  voice  was  strong  and  com 
manding.  "Every  word  you  speak  condemns  me." 

Slowly  the  hands  dropped  from  the  face  that 
was  now  raised  to  his.     The  great,  dark  eyes  were 
285 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

deep  with  questioning  hope.  The  lips  trembled 
with  a  smile  that  a  breath  would  fan  into  life. 

"I  must  obey  my  master." 

Ralph's  face  was  close  to  hers.  His  voice  was 
low  and  strong. 

"Then  tell  me  that  you  love  me." 

"I  love  you.  With  all  my  heart  and  soul  and 
strength,  I  love  you." 

Gently  she  put  him  aside. 

"Let  me  go  now,  Ralph.    I  must  be  with  Amy." 


286 


CHAPTER  THIRTY 

A  woman  was  standing  beside  an  iron  gate  all 
but  hidden  in  a  riotous  growth  of  blossoming  vines 
that  opened  upon  a  grass-grown  mound. 

"To  the  memory  of  Elijah  Berl." 

"He  shall  make  the  desert  blossom  as  the  rose"— 
was  graven  on  the  bronze  plate. 

Far  below  her,  and  on  either  side,  instead  of  the 
bare,  brown  hillsides  of  a  few,  short  years  ago, 
grew  rank  on  rank,  leaves  of  glossy  green,  flecked 
with  tawny  gold.  Here  and  there,  red-tiled  houses, 
their  walls  all  but  covered  with  climbing  roses, 
stood  at  the  head  of  marshalled  groves.  Shining 
lines  moved  out  and  in,  where  the  waters  of  the 
Sangre  de  Cristo  sank  into  the  red  earth  and  sprang 
upwards  in  fruit  and  flower.  The  air  was  resonant 
with  happy  bird  notes  that  trilled  from  tree  to 
tn<-  as  the  tiny  musicians  with  swelling  throats 
poured  out  the  happiness  that  their  little  bodies 
could  not  contain. 

There  was  no  longer  the  old-time  harshness  of 
th«-  desert  air,  the  sky  was  bluer,  the  sunlight  softer. 
There  was  nothing  that  whispered  of  death,  save 
the  bronze  tablet;  even  this  spoke  not  so  much  of 
death  as  of  triumph  over  it. 

287 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

By  the  side  of  the  grave  stood  a  woman  clad 
in  somber  black.  Her  robes  were  out  of  harmony 
with  the  inscription,  the  blossoming  landscape ;  out 
of  harmony  with  the  soft,  patient  eyes,  the  rounded, 
tinted  cheeks,  the  fluffy  masses  of  tawny  hair.  Not 
a  line,  not  a  wrinkle,  not  a  gray  thread  told  that 
the  heart  of  Amy  Berl  was  lying  with  her  husband 
beneath  the  guarding  bronze. 

A  tall,  earnest  faced  boy  was  coming  down  the 
path,  trying  to  preserve  a  dignified  walk  that  was 
yet  pulled  into  abrupt  steps  by  a  dancing,  laugh 
ing  girl  who  tugged  at  his  outstretched  arm. 

"Mama,"  she  cried,  "Uncle  Sid  is  waiting  for 
you." 

Amy  slowly  turned  her  eyes  to  the  child,  as  if 
with  an  effort,  then  moved  up  the  path.  The  boy 
was  by  his  mother's  side,  walking  evenly  with  her. 
The  girl  was  dancing  and  skipping,  now  before 
them,  now  behind,  dragging  her  mother  to  admire 
a  new-blown  rose,  then  starting  off  in  vain  chase  of  a 
rainbow-tinted  lizard  that  skittered  up  a  tree  trunk, 
and,  having  reached  a  safe  height,  turned  calmly 
and  curiously  towards  its  pursuer,  and  with  pal 
pitating  throat  and  lazily  blinking  eyes,  composed 
itself  to  rest. 

Where  the  path  opened  out  to  the  palm-bordered 
driveway,  the  child  abandoned  her  companions  and, 
with  a  merry  shout,  clambered  into  the  carriage 
with  Uncle  Sid.  Before  he  was  aware  of  her  pur- 

288 


THE  VISION  OP  ELIJAH  BERL 

she  had  clutched  the  lines  from  his  fingers 
mid  had  snapped  the  drowsy  horses  into  action. 
Uncle  Sid  regained  his  balance  with  difficulty. 

4 'You  pesky  little  jack-rabbit,  you!"  he  growled. 
"  Anybody  'd  know  who  your  father  was,  with  his 
I  shut!" 

Uncle  Sid  brought  the  horses  to  a  halt  and  turned 
to  Amy. 

"You  don't  know  of  no  orphan  asylum  nor  no 
reform  school,  do  you,  where  a  respectable,  steady- 
minded  old  sea  captain  could  end  his  days  in  peace  f 
Because  if  you  do,  I'm  goin'  to  apply  at  once,  if  it 
takes  me  out  of  California.  I'm  gettin'  used  up. 
If  Ralph  jr.  ain't  got  the  colic  an's  a  howlin'  over 
it,  he's  cheerful,  which  is  worse,  an'  when  he  does 
get  to  sleep,  then  Ralph  an'  Helen  tackles  the  job 
right  where  he  left  off." 

"You  know  you're  always  welcome  here,  Uncle 
Sid."  Amy  smiled  at  the  old  face  that  seemed  to 
get  no  older  in  spite  of  his  complaints. 

"Yes,"  growled  Uncle  Sid,  "to  get  yanked 
around  by  this  bundle  of  electricity.  The  only 
thing  that's  restsome  here,  is  that  boy.  Ain't  you 
crot  no  dance  in  your  shanks?"  Uncle  Sid  flicked 
his  whip  threateningly  at  the  boy,  who  skipped 
a>iilc  Miiilinjr.  "That's  right.  You  keep  it  up  till 
you've  skipped  th«-  whole  kit  an'  kerboodle  into  this 
wagon,  an'  I'll  take  the  lot  o'  you  to  Palm  Wells. 
That's  what  I'm  here  for." 

180 


THE  VISION  OF  ELIJAH  BERL 

They  drove  over  a  winding,  palm-bordered  road, 
through  spicy  orange  groves,  through  ragged- 
barked,  spindling  groups  of  eucalyptus,  and  drew 
up  before  the  doors  of  the  Palm  Wells  cottage. 

Ralph  and  Helen  came  out  to  meet  their  guests. 
Perhaps  Ralph  would  have  chosen  to  be  more  digni 
fied  in  the  welcoming  of  his  friends,  but  a  wrig 
gling,  crowing  mass  of  pink  and  white  prevented 
him. 

1  'There  he  is!"  groaned  Uncle  Sid.  "There  he 
is!  The  most  wonderful  thing  in  the  whole  world, 
exceptin'  sixty  hundred  millions  more  just  like 
him.  He  can't  talk  Latin  nor  Greek,  nor  any  thin' 
but  "googoo,"  when  he's  happy,  an'  "yow"  when 
his  f  eelin  's  are  troublin '  him,  an '  he  don 't  know  any 
better 'n  to  play  horse  with  his  daddy's  transit  when 
he  finds  it  lyin'  round  loose,  just  like  any  other 
good-f or-nuthin '  baby. ' ' 


290 


A  Spell-binding  Creation 

Mysterious  Mr.  Sabin 

By  E.  PHILLIPS   OPPENHEIM 

Author  of  "  Anna  the  Adventuress,"  etc. 
Illustrated.      397  pages.      \2rno.      $1.50 

Deals  with  an  intrigue  of  international  moment  —  the  fomenting 
of  a  war  between  Great  Britain  and  Germany  and  the  restoration 
of  the  Bourbon  monarchy  in  France  as  a  consequence.  Intensely 
readable  for  the  dramatic  force  with  which  the  story  is  told,  the 
absolute  originality  of  the  underlying  creative  thought,  and  the 
strength  of  all  the  men  and  women  who  fill  the  pages. — Pittsburg 
Times. 

Not  for  long  has  so  good  a  story  of  the  kind  been  published, 
and  the  book  is  the  more  commendable  because  the  literary 
quality  of  its  construction  has  not  been  slighted.  —  Chicago 
Record-Herald. 


By  the  Author  of  «  The  Shadow  of  the  Czar" 

THE  WEIRD  PICTURE 

By  JOHN  R.  CARLING 

Author  of  "The  Viking's  Skull,"  "The  Shadow  of  the  Czar,"  etc. 
With  Pictures  by  Cyrus  Cuneo.      \2rno.     $1.50 

When  a  man  is  summoned  home  to  attend  the  marriage  to 
another  man  of  the  woman  he  loves,  and  when  the  bridegroom 
is  his  own  brother,  the  situation  is  certainly  very  striking. 
The  wedding  does  not  take  place,  for  the  bridegroom  is 
murdered.  The  scene  in  which  the  victim  appears  to  his 
brother,  on  the  lattcr's  arrival  at  Dover,  is  singularly  impressive. 
All  this  is  disclosed  in  the  opening  chapter,  and  paves  the  way 
for  a  story  which  becomes  more  and  more  intense  and  interesting 
as  its  remarkable  plot  is  developed. 


LITTLE,    BROWN,  6f  CO.,  Publishers 

BOSTON,     MASS. 


A  Gallant  Romance  of  Love  and  Daring 

MY  LADY  CLANCARTY 

By  MARY   IMLAY    TAYLOR 

Author  of  "On  the  Red  Staircase,"  etc. 
Illustrated  by  Alice  Barber  Stephens.       \irno.      $1.50 

In  this  gallant  romance  of  love  and  daring,  in  which  the 
action  is  swift,  the  characters  are  individual  and  interesting,  and 
the  atmosphere  and  setting  are  well  adapted  to  the  theme. 
Lady  Elizabeth  Spencer,  daughter  of  Lord  Sunderland,  and 
through  his  sordid  and  ambitious  motives  married  at  the  age  of 
eleven  to  Lord  Clancarty,  makes  the  most  charming  of  heroines, 
and  her  nobility  of  character  and  faithful  love  are  finely  and 
tenderly  portrayed. 


A  Story  of  Adventure^  Intrigue -,  and  Love 

A  PRINCE  OF  LOVERS 

By  SIR   WILLIAM    MAGNAY 

Author  of  "The  Red  Chancellor,"  etc. 
Illustrated  by  Cyrus  Cuneo.      \^mo.     $1.50 

In  this  new  novel  by  Sir  William  Magnay,  the  heroine, 
"  Princess  Ruperta,"  a  princess  of  the  blood  royal,  sick  of  the 
monotony  and  unreality  of  Court,  goes  out  one  night,  incognito, 
with  her  maid.  Danger  unexpectedly  threatens  her,  and  when 
she  is  gallantly  rescued  from  this  danger  by  a  young  and 
handsome  stranger,  it  is  not  unnatural  that  (betrothed  com- 
pulsorily  as  she  is  for  State  reasons  to  a  royal  person  whom  she 
has  never  seen)  love  is  born  in  the  heart  of  the  Princess  as  well 
as  in  that  of  her  unknown  rescuer.  Then  follows  a  series  of 
adventures  brilliantly  imagined  and  enthrallingly  told. 


LITTLE,    BROWN,  fc?  CO.,  Publishers 

BOSTON,     MASS. 


A  Story  of  Colorado  Life 

Justin  Wingate,  Ranchman 

By  JOHN    H.   WHITSON 

Author  of  "  Barbara,  a  Woman  of  the  West,"   "  The  Rainbow 
Chasers,"  etc. 

Illustrated.      1 2mo.     $1.50 

Another  strong  Western  story  with  spirited  and  graphic 
picturing  of  local  conditions,  the  agricultural  development  of 
a  Western  ranch  section,  and  the  struggle  between  the  ranch 
men  and  the  farmers.  The  story  has  three  remarkably  striking 
scenes  of  danger  —  a  high-grass  fire,  a  stampede  of  excited 
cattle,  and  a  terrific  storm  and  cloud-burst.  There  is  abun 
dant  love  interest  ;  also  a  strong  political  element,  dealing 
with  Colorado  politics  and  the  fight  between  cattlemen  and 
irrigationists  to  control  the  legislature,  in  which  the  hero  becomes 
the  storm  centre.  The  attempt  of  a  beautiful,  crafty,  and  un 
scrupulous  woman,  who  is  a  wrecker  of  hearts  and  of  men,  to 
influence  his  vote  for  United  States  senator  plays  an  important  part. 


A  Tale  of  the  Arizona  Desert 

CURLY 

By   ROGER    POCOCK 

Author  of  "  Following  the  Frontier,"  etc. 

Illustrated  by  Stanley  L.  Wood.      izmo.     $1.50 

A  remarkable  story  of  cattle  ranges  of  Arizona,  the  great 
desert,  and  the  grand  canon  of  the  Colorado  river.  The  author 
has  written  a  romance  of  adventure,  of  conflict,  and  of  love,  — 
a  story  of  breathless  interest,  remarkable  situation,  and  great 
humor  and  pathos.  Chalkeye,  the  cowboy  who  tells  the  story, 
Captain  McCalmont,  the  robber-chief,  Lord  Babshannon,  the 
owner  of  a  Colorado  ranch,  his  son  "  Jim,"  and  "  Curly,"  who 
gives  the  name  to  the  story,  are  characters  of  great  strength, 
finely  portrayed  and  well  contrasted. 

LITTLE,    BROWN,  6f  CO.,  Publishers 

BOSTON,    MASS. 


A  Romance  of  South  Africa 

ON  THE  FIRING  LINE 

By  ANNA  CHAPIN  RAY  and 
HAMILTON   BROCK   FULLER 

With  Frontispiece  by  H.   W.   Moore,      \2rno.     $1.50 

In  this  fine  romance  of  love  and  war  Miss  Ray  has  a  wider 
field  than  she  has  compassed  before  and  strikes  a  deeper  note  of 
feeling.  The  events  take  place  in  South  Africa  during  the 
Boer  War,  and  in  local  details  Mr.  Fuller  has  given  valuable 
aid.  As  in  the  author's  other  books,  the  characters  awaken 
interest  because  they  are  so  human. 


By  the  Author  of  "A  Rose  of  Normandy" 

A  KNOT  OF  BLUE 

By  WILLIAM  R.  A.  WILSON 

Illustrated  by  Cb.  Grunwald.         \2rno.        $1.50 

In  a  new  tale  of  absorbing  interest  the  author  of  the  success 
ful  "  Rose  of  Normandy"  has  faithfully  portrayed  feminine 
tenderness  and  sweetness  of  character,  and  at  the  same  time  has 
shown  that  a  work  of  fiction  can  have  for  its  motif  the  gratifica 
tion  of  personal  revenge  without  offending  the  highest  moral 
taste  of  the  modern  civilized  world.  "  A  Knot  of  Blue" 
abounds  in  intrigue,  adventure,  the  joy  of  living  and  achieving, 
and  it  throbs  with  romantic  tenderness.  The  scene  is  laid  in 
Old  Quebec. 


LITTLE,    BROWN,  &  CO.,  Publishers 

BOSTON,    MASS. 


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